Kristina Guerra

Kristina (Kristy) Gonzalez Guerra passed away peacefully and quietly with her loving family by her side on Friday, December 22, 2017 at her home after a courageous battle with a short illness. She was 44 years of age.

She attended local schools and graduated from United High School in 1991. She served as the official photographer of the schools yearbook and continued to pursue her love of photography as a hobby after graduation. Kristy had an indomitable spirit and loved life and lived her life to the fullest. She was a world traveler and visited over 20 countries in her short life. She was an avid skier, loved the outdoors, and loved animals, especially, horses. Her energetic approach to life was contagious. Kristy was self-driven, determined and didn’t mind working hard to obtain her goals. Above all, she was a very compassionate and very caring human being, which earned her the respect of all who knew her. She was generous with friends and strangers as well, sharing her skills, time, and knowledge to help others. Kristy had many friends, here and abroad, and had a gift for expressing her love and support to all her family and friends. Her life and passion were her two sons and her daughter and her life revolved around them. Their happiness was always her priority and she dedicated her life to them and worked tirelessly to build lasting memories of their time spent together even to the very end. Kristy was a loving and devoted daughter and sister and no one could have asked for a better niece or cousin. She brought enormous joy and love to all the family gatherings, and her deep faith and love of God and the Blessed Virgen gave her a sense of purpose and direction.

Kristy would light-up the room when she walked in and made friends with all she met. She was a Child Development Specialist and received her Associate of Arts Degree in Early Childhood Development and immediately went to work in the family business, Kristi-lin’s Academy. Her passion for working with young children led her to continue to grow professionally and she implemented many innovative and creative ways to teach young children. In 2009, she took over the family business and became the Director/Owner. The school was recognized as one of the first Pioneer Texas School Ready sites in Texas. At one time, she ran several successful Kristi-lin’s Academy branches. In 2014, she opened The Crayon Company Learning Center. She was known to attend many specialized Early Childhood Conferences and seminars and used her newly learned skills to improve the quality of her daycare program. She brought well-known educators and specialists in early childhood to train her staff and as a trainer herself, she provided professional development to her staff and other local and area child care providers. She implemented cutting-edge approaches to her early childhood curriculum. Her single-mindedness and focused passion for the early childhood development business earned her the respect of many. She was appointed to the board of the National Association for the Education of Young Children, appointed to the board of the Texas Licensed Child Care Association, served on the Laredo Community College Child Development Department Advisory Board, and was a Board member of the Imaginarium of South Texas –Children’s Museum. She was President of the Laredo Child Care Providers Organization and President and Conference Chair of the LCCA. She was awarded the Congressional Service Award by Congressman Henry Cuellar and received several recognitions during her career.

“At the end of life, what matters is not what we bought but what we built;
Not what we got but what we shared; not our competence but our character; and not our success but our significance.
To have lived a life that mattered, to have lived a life of love”

Kristy has left behind a legacy of friends and the great impact and love she had for all the children whose lives she touched .

Kristy was born in Laredo, Texas on March 3, 1973 to Antonio Gonzalez and Graciela Esquivel Gonzalez. She was preceded in death by her grandparents, Mr. Teofilo R. and Adelfa Villarreal de Esquivel and Mr. Jose Gonzalez and Mrs. Elvira Gutierrez de Gonzalez; Uncles, Jose M. Gonzalez and T.R. Esquivel III; Cousins, Gerardo Treviño, and Teofilo Esquivel.

Kristy is survived by her husband, Jose Raul Guerra; beloved children, Joseph Christian, Antonio Diosel and Arizbeth Beatriz Guerra; parents, Mr. Antonio and Graciela Esquivel Gonzalez; sister, Zelina G. (Jaime) Castro; nieces, Isabella Beeanka and Carolina Gisel Castro; aunts Dr. Martha E. (Humberto Villarreal, Rosa E (Jorge) Moreno, Dalila (Raul +) Melendez, Ma. Lydia (Emilio +) Garza, Ernestina G. (Pete) Treviño, San Juana G. (Rudy) Guajardo; Adela G. (Rogelio) Garay; Elvira Gonzalez, Rosa Gonzalez, Grace G. (Oscar) Chavez, Diana Gonzalez; Uncles, Alfonso (Pam) Esquivel, Gilberto (Maria) Gonzalez, Jesus Candelario (Margarita) Gonzalez and numerous cousins and other family members.

Pallbearers are: Humberto (Tito) Villarreal, Richie Rodriguez, Eddie Esquivel, Michael Esquivel, Pedro Treviño Jr, Oscar J. Chavez, Victor Manrique, Alfonso (Boyer) Ornelas Jr.

Honorary Pallbearers: Humberto Villarreal, Alfonso R. Esquivel, Michael Patrick Esquivel, Eddie Zavala, Robert Anguiano

Funeral Arrangements are under the direction of Joe Jackson North on 1414 Jacaman Road. A rosary will be recited on Tuesday, December 26, 2017 at 7:00 pm and visiting hours will be from 5:00 pm to 9:00 pm.

Funeral procession will start the following morning at 9:30 am from Joe Jackson North to St. Patrick Catholic Church for a funeral Mass at 10:00 a.m.