Manuela Trevino Alanis

MANUELA TREVIÑO ALANIS March 25, 1913 – April 22, 2015 SAN JUAN - Manuela Treviño Alanís “Tia Mela” entered into eternal rest at the age of 102 of natural causes on Wednesday, April 22, 2015, at her daughter’s residence in San Juan, Texas. We are reminded that “life is eternal and love is immortal, while death is only a horizon, and a horizon is nothing save the limit of our sight.” Rest in Peace Tia Mela. Tia Mela was the last surviving member of her generation of the Treviño Treviño and Garza Leal families that emigrated from Mendez, Tamaulipas, Mexico and the Alanís Peña and Perez Salinas Longoria families that emigrated from Los Aldamas, Nuevo Leon, Mexico and pioneered the border region of the Rio Grande Valley when it was primarily inhabited with mesquite and cacti. Their heritage left a dedication of love for education, as evident by the number of higher education degrees earned by her children and her grandchildren. Manuela was born in Donna, TX on March 25, 1913, and is the last surviving member of nine children of the late Arnulfo Treviño Treviño and Pomposita Garza Leal of Mendez, Tamaulipas, Mexico. She is preceded in death by her husband in 1998, two infant children, three sisters, Josefina, San Juanita, and Aereopaja and five brothers, Agustin, Jesus, Adalberto, Romeo, and Alonzo. The eighth of nine children, Manuela lost her mother at the age of five and was raised primarily by her father and older siblings who nurtured her and served as role models in her formative years. The Treviños relocated from Mendez, Tamaulipas, Mexico to Donna, Texas on December 12, 1912, then settled in San Juan a few years later. She was confirmed at the newly organized Lutheran Church of St. John at the age of twelve and served as a charter member of the class of 1925. She represented the last surviving member of the St. John Lutheran charter class. In 2003 she was honored with the Manuela Treviño de Alanís Endowed Chair for Reformation Studies at the Hispanic Summer Program for theological studies. Tia Mela was also honored by the City of San Juan with a proclamation on the occasion of her 100th birthday in 2013. She was also featured by Rick Diaz “Con Mi Gente” acknowledging her longevity at that time. She and her husband are also the recipients of the Santiago and Manuela Treviño Garza Alanís endowed scholarship for education at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. In San Juan she met Santiago Alanís, a businessman and member of a founding family of San Juan. They married in July 1936 and raised six children. Manuela was known as a hardworking woman who assumed the primary responsibility of raising her children while working at the family store. Manuela and her husband instilled a love of God, and modeled the value of hard work, honesty, and a relentless pursuit of education. Mr. and Mrs. Santiago Alanis operated the family grocery business, S. Alanis & Sons and served customers from both sides of the border. They both worked tirelessly for over 60 years, from sun up to sundown, enabling all their children to achieve their dreams and aspirations. Tia Mela took great pleasure in sharing her “dichos” and her faith with family, relatives, and friends. She loved to sew, needlepoint, crochet, cook, and garden. She took tremendous pleasure in reminiscing about her “good old days” with countless friends and her encyclopedic memory provided colorful anecdotes and historical details of people, places, and times gone by. Her recollections provided a go-to-source for information incorporated in the “Images of America on San Juan, Texas” published in 2010 by the San Juan EDC on the occasion of the city’s 100th anniversary. She is survived in love by her family, René (Sylvia Santiago), Diana (Humberto Gonzalez), Rev. Sylvia (the late Alejandro De La Garza), Santiago O. (Azeneth Alvarez), Felipe, Ph.D. (Gracie Moreno), and Rev. Dr. Javier; her 14 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren, who are proud to call her “Grandma Mela!”. Their lives have been enriched by her guidance and blessings. The family would like to express appreciation and thanksgiving to Dr. Ruben Alemán for his tireless efforts in her care and for his many home visits. Special thanks to the many caregivers from Medical Innovations Home Health Care and CIMA HOSPICE who offered their expertise and compassion. Special recognition goes to Mary Maldonado for her many years of support and service. Our most sincere gratitude goes to all those who showered our mom with flowers, gifts, prayers, or graced her with their presence. The Alanís family will receive family and friends from 5 to 9 p.m. with a 7 p.m. prayer service Friday, April 24, 2015, at Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan. A celebration of life service will take place at 10 a.m. Saturday, April 25, 2015, at St John Lutheran Church in San Juan. Interment will follow at Valley Memorial Gardens in McAllen. The pallbearers are grandsons Bert Gonzalez, Jr., Juan Felipe Alanís, Esquire, Santiago O. Alanís Jr., Dr. Felipe E. Alanís, Peter René De La Garza, and Dr. Marko E. Alanís. Honorary pallbearers are grandsons Alejandro De La Garza, Jr., David Alanís, and Adrian Alanís; granddaughters, Diana Rubi Boihem, Monique Renee Pappas, Arista Nelda Alanís, Iliana Alanís-York, Ph.D., Marisol De La Garza; and great grandson, Javier Roel Soza. In lieu of flowers the family suggests, with gratitude, that memorial contributions be directed to the Santiago and Manuela Treviño Garza Alanís endowed scholarship for education at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. (UTPA Advancement Office, 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, Texas 78539-2999) or the charity of their choice. Funeral services are under the direction of Memorial Funeral Home of San Juan.