Rebeca Flores

Rebeca Catalina Garcia de Flores, beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and great grand mother, left this earth peacefully to be with Our Lord on September 20, 2010 at the age of ninety nine.-Rebeca was born March 22, 1911, in Laredo, Texas to Luciano Garcia Longoria and Ramona Garza de Garcia and was affectionately known as "Mangui" to family and friends. She was a devout Catholic whose abiding faith in God sustained her through a lifetime of health and happiness, as well as through life's challenges.-Her loving kindness and generosity in helping others will be remembered for generations to come.

Rebeca married Alfredo R. Flores in 1937.-Their marriage of forty-five years lasted until his death in 1982; together they raised four children.-A strong and loving role model for her entire family, Rebeca was an involved parent in her children's and grandchildren's educations and activities, specifically those at Ursuline Academy, St. Joseph's Academy, and Our Lady of Guadalupe School, although her service to others did not end there.-At her beloved Holy Redeemer Church, of which she was a lifelong member, Rebeca was an integral part of numerous organizations:-the Altar Society, the St. Vincent de Paul Society, the Sacred Heart Society, and the Holy Trinity Organization; in fact, at various times she served as president of each of these organizations.-Her participation in church activities endured until her ninety-eighth year, during which she continued to chair a booth at the church's annual Jamaica.-She took great pride in having been part of the first women's group of the Cursillo Christian Movement in Laredo as well as of having been a charter member of the Mary Magdalene Court of the Catholic Daughters of America.-

Her reputation as an excellent cook was not exaggerated.-Thanksgiving and Christmas dinners at the Flores household are still the subject of many family gatherings.-At Holy Redeemer Church fundraising functions, long lines of customers usually meant that Sra. Flores was selling her famous red taquitos or her enchiladas con papitas.-Many will remember the first Border Fest event on the Civic Center grounds where Rebeca, along with her daughters, demonstrated the art of making bunuelos.

Gardening was another of Rebeca's passions.-Her lush garden, particularly her huge patch of daisies every spring, served as a backdrop for many snapshots.-Passers-by were often seen stopping in front of her garden gate to take in the beauty and peace of her special garden.-

Rebeca was preceded in death by her husband; her parents; her five brothers Raul, Roberto, Rogelio, Rodolfo, and Refugio Garcia; by her only sister and best friend, Raquel Valle; by her sister-in-law Adelfa F. Perez; and by her brothers-in-law Alejandro, Alfonso, and Arturo Flores.

Survivors are her children Josie (+Joe) Guerra, Sara (Ruben) Chavarria, Magdalena F. Alexander, and Alfredo Flores Jr.; her grandchildren Joe Guerra Jr., Becky (Mike) Doyle, Dr. Maya (Fernando) Zuniga, Alfonso (Amanda) Guerra, Alfredo (Tamara) Guerra, Carlos Guerra, Monica (Robert) Jones, Maria Eugenia Guerra, Dr. Sara Chavarria (Dr. WimVan Leeuwen), Alejandro Chavarria, Veronica (Arturo) Vela, Adalberto Chavarria, Adriana (Luis) Estrada, Cristina (Reynaldo) Davila, Arturo Chavarria, James Alexander, and Robert (Adriana) Alexander; as well as her twenty-six great grandchildren, several beloved nieces, nephews, and other relatives.-

The family extends a very special thank you to her doctors, Dr. Eduardo Gomez-Vazquez and Dr. Jorge Gomez-Vazquez, Med-Ex Ambulance Service, the staff of Doctors Hospital Wound Care Center, San Jose Home Health and her faithful caretakers Esdra, Diamantina, and Guillermina. Anyone wishing to make a donation in her memory to her beloved Holy Redeemer Church is encouraged to do so.

Arrangements are under the direction of the funeral service professionals at Joe Jackson Heights Funeral Chapels, 719 Cortez; (956) 722-0001.