Tomasita G Deferreire

McAllen---Tomasa (“Tomasita”) Garza De Ferreire, 93, passedaway on August 29, 2018 at Pax Villa Hospice and PalliativeCare facility after a lengthy illness.Born in Rio Grande City, Tx, she lived her life as a military wifeto her beloved husband USAF Chief Master Sergeant ManuelDe Ferreire, Jr. (born on Fort Ringgold, Rio Grande City, Tx) for62 years until his passing in February 16, 2008. Preceding her in death are her father Jose Juarez Garza (born in Camargo, Tamp., MX) and Maria Gomez Garza (born in Mier, Tamp., MX), who became USA citizens and successful local business leaders. They founded the historical CaféMexico in 1937 in Rio Grande City, TX which was active for 40years. Also passed are her only brother Arturo J. Garza (U.S.Navy, WWII, Pearl Harbor, Hawaii), and wife Ofelia Salinas; sisters Raquel de la Garza and husband Valeriano de la Garza;Estela Saenz and husband Osbaldo Saenz (US Army, Korean war), and nephew Raul Cano, Jr. (USAF, Viet Nam era), all of Rio Grande City, Tx.Tomasita is survived by her daughters Dr. Mary Elizabeth De Ferreire, Ph.D., Clinical Psychologist  in McAllen, Tx, and Dr.Francine Virginia De Ferreire Kemp, Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership, retired professor and owner of an antique shop,and son-in-law Dr. Herbert C. Kemp, Ph.D., (Colonel, USAF,retired) owner of his government support services company ofHerndon, Virginia. Tomasita has 3 grandchildren: Leigh De Ferreire Rowen Rothermel (husband Col. Scott Rothermel, USAF), and their children, Travis De Ferreire (age 9) and Dillon Rowen (age 7); Matthew De Ferreire Kemp, (wife Anne) and their children Gabriel (age 10), Michael (age 8) and David (age 6) of Herndon, Virginia; and Eric Thomas Kemp, (wife Glenann) and their children Grey (age 3) and Clark (age 3 months) of Reston,Virginia.

Tomasita’s only surviving sibling is Elma Garza Cano, now 89 years old, widow of Capt. Raul V. Cano (US Army, Korean War) Tomasita attended Immaculate Conception Elementary

Catholic School in Rio Grande City where she met her future husband, Manuel, in 2 nd grade. She graduated from Rio Grande City High School in 1942. They married in January 23,

l946 upon his return as a highly decorated WWII veteran flying “The Donna Mae” B-17 in the 8 th Air Force in England. In the early 1960’s, she completed her Licensed Vocational Nursing

Certification in Waco, Texas and worked in a Waco, Texas Catholic hospital’s Burn Unit, the job she loved most. Tomasita was blessed to have 17 nieces and nephews. They have had their children, all surviving and thriving in their dedicated careers and interests, and most living in Starr County. Tomasita’s husband’s sister, Alice Morlan (deceased 1998), was also born on Fort Ringgold; she was survived by 2 daughters, Becky and Janice of California. Tomasita and Manuel made Austin, Tx their home after his military retirement in l969 (from l971-2004). There, Tomasita worked as a Sales Associate for Rexall drug stores, and at Scarboroughs and Bealle’s department stores where she excelled in being outstanding sales person for the various

promotions the stores held. After Manuel’s retirement from IRS Austin, he became ill and Tomasita and he relocated to Herndon, Va to live with daughter Francine and her family.

Being in the Washington D. C. area afforded them so many exciting opportunities to attend so many functions related to WWII veterans’ celebrations as well as other exciting

receptions as guests at the Smithsonian Museum or at receptions at different foreign embassies. After Manuel’s death in Virginia in 2008, Tomasita relocated to McAllen and lived with daughter Mary Elizabeth. During these past 10 years, nephews and nieces visited her, arriving with smiles on their faces, giving their “Tia” many hugs, kisses, flowers, gifts and goodies. When her beloved niece Ana Maria Gallardo lovingly visited, she brought Tomasita roses and dahlias from her own garden and also her wonderful delicious food, like fideo, pollo con calabaza, carne con papas, and pan fino. Mother sure did enjoy those meals!

Tomasita’s best friends were her cousin Jimmy Brown and his wife Isabel (“Chavelita” deceased 2018) of McAllen, TX with whom she and Manuel, since their childhoods, shared a life-

long mutual loving bond. They always expressed a deep adoration for each other all through the years, typically remarking how special their friendship was. Both Jimmy and

Isabel, experienced genealogists, traced Tomasita’s and Jimmy’s ancestry from maternal grandfather Odon Gomez (of Mier, Tamp, Mx) to their family of origin to the 17 th century in

Barcelona, Spain. Further ancestral research traced the family

lineage of that same grandfather to the 12 th century which led

to the astounding discovery that Tomasita’s 13 th level great

grandfather was King Ferdinand II of Spain, husband to Queen

Isabella. Cousin Ana often asked, “Why do our mothers and

aunts behave like they’re royalty?” Well, they truly were their

descendents!

In the early l960’s, Tomasita worked as Case Worker with

Catholic Charites of Waco, Tx, registering hundreds of indigent

persons into the newly created Medicaid Program. For this,

she was honored by the Catholic Bishop Reicher in Waco for

her diligence and commitment to assist the poor.

In l967, during Manuel’s final military tour of duty at Ramstein

AFB, Germany, mother traveled in a Catholic Church

sponsored train trip to Rome, Italy. She participated in a

special group audience with Pope Pius XII, in addition to

visiting all the marvelous Roman historical sites. This truly

was one of her life’s highlights.

In l968, Manuel took Tomasita and his girls on the famous U.S.

Army “Troop Train” from Frankfurt, Germany to West Berlin,

Germany through the night to East Germany. The family was

allowed to visit East Berlin, crossing through the infamous

“Check Point Charlie” on a special access tour of the

communist controlled city. One memorable moment in West

Berlin was when Tomasita with Manuel, dressed in full USAF-

blue military uniform decorated with so many medals and his

famous WW-II B-17 Tail Gunner wings, sat on a sidewalk

bench admiring the Kaiser Wilhelm Memorial Church of

Berlin. What an extraordinary moment for Tomasita to be

right there, where WWII history was made.

Also, Manuel and Tomasita and their daughters visited

throughout Germany, Austria, Belgium, France, Luxembourg,

Holland, Spain, Italy, Greece, and Switzerland. In l968, he

took Tomasita and the girls to the International Winter

Olympics in Grenoble, France starring USA Gold Medalist Ice

Skater Peggy Fleming. That Summer, he took the family to

meet the De Ferreire family of Castaneida do Vouga, Agueda,

Portugal.

Tomasita was a devoted wife, mother, grandmother, great-

grandmother, daughter, sister, a fantastic baker and cook, a

creative seamstress, and a friend to many. Mother was loving

and extremely generous person. She was especially so with

young military wives and their children, more so as she could

relate to the struggles of being young and separated from

their families to now living life as an Airman’s wife. She

babysat their children, took the young wives shopping, and

even taught some of them how to cook. And, what a great

cook mother was!

Mother was a life-long member of the Texas Democratic

Party. She registered persons to vote when the family lived in

New Mexico, and also later in Austin, TX where she resided

between l971-2004. During the l980’s-l990’s, she met many of

the Texas Democratic Party’s “Stars” from Senators,

Congressmen/Congresswomen, Governors, Commissioners,

Judges, Mayors and City Council members. If she needed to

know anything or wanted to give her opinion, she would just

telephone their office and explain her concerns. If she saw

them later, they would always greet her with a smile and a

handshake, tell her that they were “right on it!”

Tomasita was a voracious reader of the Washington Post, the

New York Times, the Smithsonian, the Economist, National

Geographic, Time, and McAllen’s ‘The Monitor.’ Mother kept

abreast with current events and could discuss serious politics

with the most educated persons. She had such an astute

mind and was so wise about how to handle challenges she

had. She could have earned a Ph.D. herself!

Often she claimed she was not only a “Valley citizen,” but

more importantly, a true “Citizen of Starr County.” Wherever

she traveled, she always related her “story” of having grown

up in an historical family, the Café Mexico, Fort Ringgold, and

Rio Grande City. Tomasita always said that she grew up in a

wonderful and exciting era. Manuel always said he married

“the prettiest girl in town!”

In addition to her husband’s military accolades, Tomasita’s

greatest sources of pride were the expansive academic

achievements and continued professional successes of her

would strive for any goal and definitely succeed.

When one has an ill person in the home, one can hardly cope

with the trials of aging, without the help of many others. For

Mother, her in-home caretakers (Socorro, Maria, Blanca,

Laurie, Anna, Alma, and Gaby) rendered kind personal

assistance, and we thank them all. We also thank family

friends, Janie Garcia (deceased 2016) who always gave

Tomasita a smile, a hug, and whatever bracelet she was

wearing that day, all as gifts of love. And, we thank Mary Lou

Reyna for her thoughtfulness of often sending sweet pastries

home to mother.

We thank Tomasita’s physicians: Dr. Asistores, Dr. Igoa, Dr.

Silverman, and Dr. Daniel Guerra. We thank the hospitals’

Emergency Room Teams and the excellent quality of care she

received at McAllen Medical Center, McAllen Heart Hospital

and Doctors Renaissance Hospital. We thank all the therapists

at Legends rehabilitation center for their restorative services.

Mother would always try to say “thank you” to each hospital

caretaker whether they adjusted her position in the bed or

were responsible for administering batches of complicated

medications. We send blessings to all special persons who

have dedicated their lives to the care of the ill.

Most recently, Tomasita had been in the care of Pax Villa

Hospice and Palliative Care Facility of Mission, Texas with

Director Dr. Etienne and his incredibly dedicated staff.

Tomasita’s family thank the Nurses (Wendy, Alejandra, Angie,

Eloy, Geronimo (Bobby), Lydia, Jessica, Yvette), the facility’s

CNAs (Amanda, Carmelita, Eliamar, Hilda, Lizeth), Pastors,

Social Workers, and support staff (Cesar). We are also

especially grateful to the CNAs (Marta, Maribel, Carmelita),

who faithfully came each day to the home to provide personal

care to Tomasita. Our family extends a deep appreciation for

the love and compassion shown to Mother by family and staff

during her final days at the facility.

Tomasita had a strong faith in God, often prayed to sustain a

deep personal strength. She lived by high moral standards and

maintained her personal dignity and strong family values

forever. It is with heavy hearts and deep sadness that we

mourn Tomasita’s passing. The daughters have now lost both

their loving and very special parents.

God bless you Mother. God bless you Daddy. Thank you for all

you did for us, such personal sacrifices to give us the best life

we had with you two. We love you always!

Funeral services will be under the direction of Sanchez Funeral

Home, 301 E. 2 nd St, Rio Grande City, Tx. Visitation will be held

Monday, September 3, 2018, at the funeral home between

3:00pm to 9:00pm; the rosary will start at 7:00pm. Viewing

will continue on Tuesday, September 4, 2018, at 8:00am

followed by the funeral Mass at 10:00am to be celebrated at

Immaculate Conception Catholic Church, on Britton Avenue in

Rio Grande City, TX. Pallbearers will be Herbert Kemp, Eric

Kemp, Scott Rothermel, Larry Gallardo, Victor Gallardo,

Valeriano de la Garza, Eduardo de la Garza, Osbaldo Saenz,

Beto Saenz, and Nicolas Cano. Burial services will follow at

1:00pm at the Rio Grande Valley Veterans Military Cemetery

on 25205 South Inspiration Rd in Mission, TX. Tomasita will be

laid to rest with Manuel, her hero-husband. A post-funeral

family luncheon will follow at a location to be announced.