Ricardo G. Chapa

Ricardo G. Chapa - Our beloved husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother, uncle and friend, passed away at the age of 78 on Wednesday, November 11, 2015 in San Antonio, Texas with his family at his side. He was born on June 16, 1937 in Sabinas Hidalgo, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. He was preceded in death by his parents Fernando Chapa Guzman† and Maria Gonzalez de Chapa†, and siblings Hector† (Maria de Jesus Chapa), Pedro† (Cuqui Chapa), and Maria Hilda† (Armando Neri†).

Ricardo is survived by his wife of 52 years Adela and children Richard (Dina Chapa), Camila (Miguel Mares), Osvaldo, Marisa (Dave Roberts) and Adriana (Rick Garcia). He has nine grandchildren: Monica, Ricky, Noel, Christopher, Catrina, RoRi, Matthew, EJ and Ariana. He also has four great-grandchildren: Evanie, Aiden, Mary Jane and Raven.

He is also survived by his sisters: Camila (Johnny Sandoval‡) Josefina (Baldemar Villarreal) and Lydia (Fernando Sanchez) brother-n-laws, sister-n-laws, many nieces and nephews who loved him very much.

He lived an exemplary life as a committed and loyal husband, father and worker. He emigrated to the United States at the young age of 16 in order to help his family after his father passed away. He began working as a migrant worker in California for several years and then settled in San Antonio to live in the same neighborhood as his siblings. He later went on to work in the terrazzo industry where he was employed by Venice Art Terrazzo for over 35 years. Ricardo, his brother Hector, and other co-workers received special recognition from former Texas Governor, Ann Richards, for the restoration of the Texas State Capitol. Next time you visit the capitol building, pay special attention to the Texas State Seal in the middle of the rotunda and the entire terrazzo floors of the state capitol.

Ricardo enjoyed watching the evening news, TV shows like Don Fransisco's Sabado Gigante, and a variety of daytime Spanish soap operas. He loved to visit his "Querido" Mexico and throughout the years, made special trips for family celebrations, weddings, birthdays and gatherings. He and his wife enjoyed vacationing in Mexico and for many years, traveled with relatives and friends in a chartered bus visiting many cities, resorts, and popular destinations. He loved to sing and was quite popular with his traveling buddies. His favorite song was "Gema".

He also enjoyed yard work and planting and caring for his pecan and lemon trees. But the most favorite of all his activities was spending time with family and friends. Family was very important to him and he made it a point to attend family celebrations. And while he did not get to do it often, he really enjoyed fishing and making fish soup. He and his brothers-in-law competed to see who made the best "Caldo de Pescado". In his youth, he owned a horse and had not been on one since he was a teenager. At the age of 74, he had a desire to ride again and so he bought a white horse he named Paloma. He took great pride in riding Paloma and feeding his new friend.

Some of his favorite things included: Drinking coffee at any time of the day, biscuits and gravy from What-a-Burger, oatmeal cookies, pecans, carne guisada, menudo, chewing Wrigley's Double Mint gum, ice cream cones, and strawberry milk shakes from McDonald's. He also enjoyed wearing Guayaberas.

Good bye for now until we see you again. May you rest in peace and enjoy the kingdom and the glory of our heavenly father.

ROSARY

TUESDAY

NOVEMBER 17, 2015

7:00 P.M.

PORTER LORING CHAPEL

1101 MCCULLOUGH AVE

PROCESSION

WEDNESDAY

NOVEMBER 18, 2015

9:30 A.M.

FROM PORTER LORING

MASS

10:00 A.M.

IMMACULATE HEART OF MARY CATHOLIC CHURCH

617 S. SANTA ROSA

Interment will follow at San Fernando Cemetery II.