Celia Rivera

CELIA RIVERA PHARR — Celia Rivera, 79, died Monday, October 12, 2015, at her residence in Pharr. Born in Pascuaro, Michoacan, she had lived in Pharr most of her life. She is preceded in death by her husband, Fortunato Rivera; a son, Fortunato Rivera Jr.; and her parents, Erasto and Felipa Rodriguez. Celia is survived by nine children, Alicia Sahagun, Frances (Alvaro) Moreno, Consuelo (Benito) Rosalez, Jose Angel (Martha) Rivera, Beatris Munoz, Lorenzo (Claudia) Rivera, Jaime (Idalia) Rivera, Oralia (Luis) Villarreal, Abel (Sandra) Rivera; a daughter in law, Diann Rivera; 25 grandchildren, Veronica, Abran, Joyce, Isaac, Ruth, John Joe, Luke, Alvaro Jr., Thomas, Skye, Magdalena, Claritza, Illiana, Sarah, Rafael Jr., Victor, David, Matthew, Jacob, Joel, Mark, Analisa, Michael, Ariana and Anthony; 15 great-grandchildren, Gabriella, Abigail, Karina, Allison, Selena, Emily, Yahel, Noah, Joceline, Kimberly, Aiden, Blake, Aaron, Ethan and Erik; a cousin, Antonia (Geronimo) Maya and her children, Antonia, Melissa, and Patrick and grandchildren, Brenda, Austin and Tabitha. The family would like to thank Celia’s caregivers, Maria Gonzalez and Teresa Cisneros, for the care given to their mother. Visitation will be held from 5 to 9 p.m., with a 7 p.m. rosary Tuesday, October 13, 2015, at Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan. Funeral service will take place at 1 p.m. Wednesday, October 14, 2015, at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church in Pharr. Interment will follow at Val Verde Memorial Gardens in Donna. Her grandsons will serve as pallbearers. Funeral services are under the direction of Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan.