Ernestina Cavada

Ernestina Cavada, 93, passed away on February 27, 2015 in Corpus Christi. She lived a long, fruitful life. She was born on October 16, 1921. She was the daughter of Marcelino and Maria Del Refugio Esquivel.

She is predeceased by her parents and by Ruben Cavada, her husband of 65 years, who passed away 8 years ago. Her brothers, Jose Armando Esquivel, Adalberto Esquivel, Eliodoro Esquivel, and Honorato Esquivel also predeceased her.

She is survived by one brother, Angel Esquivel. She is also survived by three children, Armando, Abel and Alicia Cavada and 9 grandchildren, Marco Cavada, Martha Ortiz, Marivel Fontanez, Adelita Cavada, Alamar Cavada, Camilo Cavada, Ivan Cavada, Rudy Garza and Christina Garza; 15 great-grandchildren, David Cavada, Michael Cavada Armando Cavada, Isabel and Sofie Ortiz, Cruz and Camila Fontanez, Aleksander McCritis, Nikolas McCritis and Viviana Green, Laura and Isaiah Cavada, Bellatina Harpel, Benjamin and Noah Garza and several nieces and nephews and grandnephews and grandnieces.

She grew up in the Rio Grande Valley. She attended school in Peñitas and La Joya and graduated from La Joya High School in 1940 as Valedictorian. She married in 1941 and she and her husband moved to Corpus Christi after World War II. She was a seamstress all her life, and sewed at home for a wide variety of clientele. She was a real artist. She sang well and was very intelligent. She never lost her memory and could recall details about long deceased family members and friends.

She was a woman of compassion, great understanding and intelligence. She inspired and encouraged her children and grandchildren to attain good educational backgrounds. In 2012, the Cavada and Esquivel families attended a family reunion and there were so many descendants of the Esquivel family, her family of origin, who had graduated colleges and professional schools. It was a proud moment for her. One of her grandnephews was valedictorian at the same school 72 years later, and she was especially proud of him.

In the last years of their lives, my sister Alicia, provided tender, loving care for our beloved father and mother. Words cannot express our appreciation for her dedication to them. She loved our mother and father so much, and she was such an attentive daughter, that our parents could not have received better care or been happier in their final years. We should all be so blessed. Thank you all for yours prayers. May she rest in the Lord’s peace forever.

Visitation will be held on Sunday, March 1, 2015 from 5:00 p.m. until 9:00 p.m. with a rosary at 7:00 p.m. that same evening at Funeraria del Angel 549 Cheyenne Street. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Monday, March 2, 2015 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Theresa Catholic Church, 1302 Lantana. Burial will follow at Rose Hill Memorial Park.