Maria "Chula" V. Barrera, 90, entered eternal rest and peace on December 14, 2020, surrounded by loved ones. She will be remembered as a loving mother, grandmother, and great grandmother, a loyal servant of Christ, and a person who gratefully lived her life in service to her family, her beloved Catholic church, her cherished comadres and her community.
She was lovingly known to her family as “Yaya,” a name given to her by a first grandchild, who as a toddler struggled to pronounce “grandma” but somehow managed to crown her as simply “my Yaya.” More than four decades, dozens of grandchildren and great-grandchildren later, she is still our Yaya, to her family, extended family and friends.
Chula’s love for her eight daughters was never in question, but she treasured being a grandmother and great-grandmother even more. The love she had for her grandchildren and great-grandchildren was never-ending, and she “loved them dearly.” They were her life, a fact of which she reminded everyone daily. But Chula’s love extended to her other babies, the ones with four legs and fur. There was no doubt these babies loved her back.
Her Catholic faith truly defined Chula and set the course for her life. She lived her life without fear of death, because she held a firm belief that she would be reunited with God and her loved ones. Here, too, Chula shared her love with others, as an active congregant of the Sacred Heart Catholic Church, a member of Catholic Daughters of America, Altar Society, Las Guadalupanas, a Eucharist Minister and a devoted CCD bible class teacher for many years. She passed on her devotion and love of her Catholic faith to all her family, another way she lives on with her loved ones.
To be sure, Chula also loved a good garage sale. A typical Saturday could consist of scouring countless ads for estate sales until she found the perfect one to check out with her daughters, followed up by lunch at IHOP, then more shopping. She never passed up a bargain, to be sure, but it was the time she spent with her children on these excursions that truly mattered. Those memories, the special times spent with her loved ones, easily outshine a lifetime of garage-sale finds and a mountain of estate-sale treasures.
She was a lifelong Democrat, and she loved politics across the board, at local, state and national levels. These last few years she admired politicians like President Barack Obama and Secretary Hillary Clinton, not only for their platforms, but for what they both represented - that the promise of equity and justice for all is within our reach. She lived to see a woman run for President as a major party candidate, and just last month she helped elect our first female Vice President.
Chula is preceded in death by her parents, Alberto Villa and Victorina Ybarra Villa, husband of over 40 years, Godfrey Barrera, infant son Alfredo “Freddie” Barrera, grandson Sergio O. Mora, all her brothers and sisters, and countless nieces and nephews.
She is survived by eight daughters, Criselda Guajardo, Corpus Christi, Texas, Yolanda Mora, Corpus Christi, Texas, Letty (Hector) Lopez, Duncanville, Texas, Margie (Raul) Alonzo, Portland, Texas, Sammi (David) Benavides, Falfurrias, Texas, Sandra Barrera, Premont, Texas, Catherine Barrera, Garland, Texas, her niece who she considered a daughter, Anessa C. Guerra, Premont, Texas, and honorary son, John V. Trevino, Dallas, Texas who the family considered a brother and she as her son. She was blessed with fifteen grandchildren, twenty-six great-grandchildren, one great-great grandchild and numerous nieces, nephews and extended family members and friends.
Pallbearers will be Matthew D. Benavides, Adam D. Benavides, Antonio G. Perez, David T. Lopez II, Michael A. Cates and Brian M. Garza. Honorary Pallbearers are Sergio O. Mora and John V. Trevino, Jr.
Rosary will be prayed 9:30 a.m. on Monday, December 21, 2020 at the Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Falfurrias with Visitation beginning at 9:00 a.m. Due to current Covid restrictions, church occupancy is 100 people maximum at this time. Funeral Mass will follow at 11:00 a.m. Services will conclude with a Burial at the Falfurrias Burial Park.
