Kendra Texas

KENDRA K. PEREZ

November 19, 1990-June 18, 2017

**Please view photo galleries for a message from the family**

Kendra K. Perez, 26, entered into eternal rest on Sunday, June 18, 2017 at Tulare County, California.

Kendra was the first child born to Guillermo and Sandra Perez in Laredo, Texas on November 19, 1990. As a gregarious child she was quick to always be friendly with everyone she met at school and at other family events. She was always smiling and willing to give a hug. As a young child in elementary school her journey began for the love of theater arts. Her first acting part was being a narrator in the second grade of a Christmas scene at Our Lady of Guadalupe School. Kendra also participated in basketball and was a member of the dance and cheer team and won first place in an essay writing contest for Catholic Schools. Kendra also participated in a scene of Romeo and Juliet at Finley Elementary and lip-synced Donna Summer at a talent show at Gutierrez Elementary where she was now in the gifted and talented program. At the age of seven Kendra pursued the beauty and love of dancing Flamenco, Jazz, Tap, Ballet, Hip-Hop and Tae Kwon Do, the art of self-defense with the Rendon’s Dance and Karate Academy. These activities took her to dancing and sparring events across the State of Texas, Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, and Las Vegas, Nevada while garnering individual and team awards. Kendra also played basketball and volleyball while maintaining high scholastic achievement and awards for her classroom performance.

During her school years at Clark Middle School, Kendra embarked onto her passion for theater arts and participated in the presentations of The Magicians Nephew and The Other Side of the Wall . She won One Act Play best actress in the zone competition and honorable mention in the district competition. She played for the basketball and volleyball teams, a National Junior Honor Society member, Student Council Member and an all A honor roll student. She won first place in the UIL Oral Reading Competition as well. Kendra reached the rank of Brown belt in Karate and was the All-Stars Dance Team Captain with Rendon’s Dance and Karate Academy.

During her high school years she participated at the Guadalupe and Lilia Martinez Fine Arts Center Theater productions of Beauty and the Beast , West Side Story , Oliver!, The Whiz , and The Sound of Music . She also attended the Kathy Proffit Vocal Studio. At Alexander High School, Kendra was in the Health Sciences Magnet program and was a two year performer with the dance group the Dazzlers. She competed at the state level in the UIL Prose and Poetry. She participated in the UIL one act plays The Trojan Women , Harvey and Auntie Mame . For her performance in “Harvey”, she won Best Actress at the Zone, District, Area and Regional Competitions. She was a participant in 2006 Shattered Dreams Event. She was recognized as a National Honor Society member, whose membership is based on Scholarship, Leadership, Service and Character. In 2008-2009, Kendra won first place in the Laredo Rotary Club Four Way Speech Contest and was also a counselor of the Rotary Youth Leadership Awakening Program.

In 2009, Kendra enrolled at St. Edwards University Theater Arts Program in Austin, Texas. During her university studies, she participated in the productions of The Crucible , Eurydice , The Imaginary Invalid and The Spitfire Grill at the Mary Moody Northern Theatre. In 2012, Kendra also participated at the ZACH Theatre’s, August: Osage County production while pursuing her degree. She also traveled to the White Mountain Apache Reservation in Arizona with the St. Edward’s ministry. After graduation from St. Edwards, she worked at a Charter School in Austin, Texas. Kendra then taught Theater at the Uplift North Hills Preparatory Middle School in Dallas Texas.

In 2015, Kendra then applied to the UCLA School of Theater, Film, and Television seeking a Master’s of Fine Arts Degree and was accepted with a Graduate Opportunity Fellowship and stipend. She decided to go to UCLA because in her words, she “wanted to be in the best theater program in the country where dreams come true”. She wanted to be among the best professors and students that would challenge her to be the best at her craft. While at UCLA she participated in theater presentations of Below the Surface , Three Sisters and Helen . Kendra wanted to savor the sensation of theater and she prepared to awaken to such a moment by always striving to be better. She surrounded herself with great individuals who inspired her to pursue greatness. Kendra K. Perez acknowledged that her ambitions involved many challenges, but she always moved forward with unrelenting talent, charm, and confidence knowing that with God all things are possible.

Kendra was preceded in death by her maternal grandfather, Lauro Arce; her paternal grandfather, Alberto Perez Sr.; as well as by her uncle, Lauro Arce Jr.

Left to cherish her memory are her parents, Guillermo and Sandra Perez; siblings, Kasandra and Guillermo Perez Jr.; maternal grandmother, Amparo Arce; paternal grandmother, Dolores S. Perez; her uncles and aunts, Rogelio Arce, Elodia Arce, Emilio (Socorro) Arce, Ruben Arce, Hilda (Ricardo) Vichareli, Francisco J. (Sunita) Arce, Norma Arce, Thelma (Ahmed) Kalantar, Alberto (Lilian) Perez, Norma Castillo, Joel Perez, and Edna Perez. She is further survived by numerous cousins, other loved relatives and friends.

The family will receive condolences on Sunday, June 25, 2017 from 4 to 9 p.m. at Joe Jackson North Funeral Chapels & Cremation Services, 1410 Jacaman Rd.; where a Rosary will be recited at 6 p.m.

Funeral Services will be held on Monday, June 26, 2017. Funeral procession will depart at 8:50 a.m. from Joe Jackson North Funeral Chapels to St. Jude Catholic Church for a Mass of Christian Burial at 9:30 a.m.

Rite of Committal and Interment will follow at the family plot in the Calvary Catholic Cemetery.

Memorial contributions may be made to The Kendra Perez Memorial Scholarship; Attn: Danielle Bearden-Mead, Associate Director of Development; UCLA School of Theater, Film and Television; 102 East Melnitz Hall - Box 951622, Los Angeles, CA 90095-1622.

The Kendra Perez Memorial Scholarship will provide financial support to retain a MFA acting student who gives voice to the unique perspective of Latino actors.

You may express your condolences and sign the guestbook online at: www.joejacksonfuneralchapels.com

Arrangements have been entrusted to the care and direction of the funeral service professionals at Joe Jackson North Funeral Chapels & Cremation Services, 1410 Jacaman Road, Laredo, Texas; (956)722-8850.