Romelia Benavides de Ornelas

Romelia Benavides de Ornelas was born August 31, 1927 in Ciudad Guerrero Viejo, Tamaulipas. On October 1, 2020 she passed away peacefully at her residence in Edinburg, Texas at the age of 93 with her family by her side. Romelia was the daughter of deceased parents Juan Manuel Benavides and Beatriz Gonzalez de Benavides of Ciudad Guerrero Viejo. As Secretary/Treasurer of the Social Club Femenil de Guerrerense in Ciudad Guerrero Viejo, Romelia helped organize one of the social balls where she met the love of her life Francisco Ornelas Cuellar. Romelia married her now deceased husband Francisco Ornelas on July 4, 1953 and remained married for over 60 years. Their wedding was the last nuptials held at the Historic Our Lady of Refuge in Guerrero Viejo. Francisco and Romelia were inseparable and raised 5 children with much tender loving care and affection. As a very young lady, she completed her studies at the Business College Bernardino del Rasso in Nuevo Laredo. She then worked for Banco Popular de Edificacion y Ahorros de Monterrey in Ciudad Guerrero Viejo. She continued her studies in Business Administration at Pan American University in Brownsville while working with the Rio Hondo ISD from 1974 to 1988 in the Bilingual Education Program. As a Director and liaison for the Parental Involvement Program, Romelia assisted and encouraged migrant students to excel and finish their education. Romelia had an unrelenting passion for her family, life and trust in God. Her faith as a devout Catholic was unwavering and she was an excellent role model to all who knew her. She touched many lives with her smile and beautiful, heartwarming demeanor. Spreading love and happiness was her natural way. Spending considerable time and focus with family events, Romelia always found time to read and write her thoughts. As an avid reader her particular interest encompassed many and any subject. The love of literature included religion, philosophy, classics, and history. Her particular interest in books developed a profound facility to communicate with an unmatched bilingual vocabulary, skill, and knowledge of many subjects. Her quick responses to questions were known as "Grandma is faster than Google". One of Romelia's passions was for her family's unity at her beloved ranch, "El Cristalito" providing lifelong family memories and reunions. She loved being outdoors enjoying nature with her loving husband and her only brother's precious family. She was very involved in the daily management of her ranch including livestock, water conservation and cultivation of the land. Surrounded by her family, one of her favorite pastimes was sitting on her front porch at sunset overlooking the pond across the hilly terrain and admiring nature's beauty. Her most remarkable life-time hobby includes a vast collection of the family tree ancestry and genealogy dating back to the mid 18th century. The collection includes family heirlooms, relics, photos, records, and historical family events of the early family pioneers and settlers. These amazing details and stories of ancestors helped shape the family history in the local region. Romelia loved to travel the world with her family and cherished every moment. Her travels began with family road trips through the western United States coast up through the Victorian Islands in British Columbia, Canada. She traveled to most major cities within the United States. She also experienced world culture with travels to Europe, the Caribbean Islands, Puerto Rico, and Mexico. Her most memorable trips were her wedding anniversaries to Acapulco (25th) and Hawaii (50th) as well as numerous and leisurely noteworthy trips to Disneyworld. One of her most cherished travels celebrated Francisco's 90th birthday which included an excursion of the Everglades in Key West and a Caribbean Cruise. Traveling throughout Mexico, she fondly remembered her numerous visits to Cancun and Cozumel in the Yucatan Peninsula. She always told friends of the trip of the "three amigas" (close relatives) that were able to travel on a leisurely, long free-will journey to experience all of Mexico's culture and traditions. Puerto Vallarta and Cabo San Lucas were her most recent destinations while touring Mexico's Southern tip of California and observing the local ecology and natural habitat. Although she loved to travel, it was the most simple things in life such as her gardening that Romelia enjoyed the most. Ultimately, it was Romelia that made her house a home. Romelia was predeceased by her husband Francisco Ornelas, parents Juan Manuel and Beatriz, her brother, Jose Maria and wife Bertha B. Benavides, and sister Raquel. Romelia is survived by her five children, Xavier Ornelas and wife Cynthia Ornelas, Edna Taylor and husband Edgar Taylor, Jr., Myrna Ornelas and husband Michael Reyes, Alma Ella Ornelas, and Albert Ornelas and wife Iris Ornelas. She is also survived by eight grandchildren Edgar Francis Taylor, Ana Lisa Naumann (Brandon), John Joseph Taylor, Mario Francisco Ornelas, Jacqueline Ornelas, Andrea Ornelas, Sophia Ornelas, and Daniella Ornelas and two great grandchildren: Nissa Elaine and William Xavier Naumann. Visitation services will be held at Kreidler Funeral Home in McAllen, TX on Thursday, October 8, 2020 from 6:00 to 8:00 with a Rosary at 7:00 pm and Monsignor Juan Nicolau officiating. A funeral Mass will be celebrated on Friday, October 9, 2020 at 9:30 am at Our Lady of Perpetual Help in McAllen and Interment services at Rio Grande Valley State Veterans Cemetery will be held at 11:00 am. The Ornelas Family wishes to thank all of you for your prayers and joining in the celebration.

Tributes

Romelia Benavides de Ornelas

October 1, 2020