Doña Chelo, as she was affectionately called by friends, was born in Linares, Nuevo Leon, Mexico on July 28, 1922, daughter of Higinio Gonzalez and Juanita Mendoza. She grew up in Linares with her 12 siblings. In 1946, she married Manuel Olvera Izaguirre, and they moved to H. Matamoros, Tamaulipas. Together they had eight children. As a devout Catholic, her family was her world. In 1966 she became a widow and she raised her eight children who were her pride and joy.
During the 1980s, Doña Chelo and her family immigrated into the United States making Brownsville, TX their residence. She always supported them in all of their academic events and she never missed any family event. Her favorite pastimes included cooking delicious plates and baking pastries for her family. She also had a green thumb for plants, going for walks, watching TV shows and lately, playing chalupa at the nursing home.
Preceding Doña Consuelo in death was her loving and devoted husband Manuel Olvera Izaguirre, her parents Higinio Gonzalez and Juanita Mendoza.
Survivors include her children: Juanita Torres (Francisco), Arcadio Olvera (Juanita), Manuel Olvera (Alma), Carlos A. Olvera (Margarita), Irma Gonzalez, Rosalinda García (Jose Ernesto), Jorge Olvera (Alma Delia) and Maria Concepción Cisneros (Ernesto); her 25 grandchildren, 36 great-grandchildren and 6 great-great grandchildren; and her brothers, Higinio, Fermin and Eusebio Gonzalez, and her sister, Paula Gonzalez.
A visitation for Doña Chelo will be held Sunday, June 8, 2025 from 1:00 PM to 9:00 PM with a Rosary at 7:00 PM in Chapel of Angels, by the Catholic Daughters of the Americas Court Saint Luke at Funeraria del Angel Buena Vista, 125 McDavitt Blvd, Brownsville, Texas 78521. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 12:00 PM on Monday, June 9, 2025, at Good Shepherd Catholic Church, 2645 Tulipan, Brownsville, Texas 78521. Interment will then follow, via an escorted procession, at 1:00 PM at Rose Lawn Memorial Gardens, 4464 Old Port Isabel Road, Brownsville, TX.
Honored to be serving as her pallbearers are: Arcadio Olvera Jr., Carlos Arturo Olvera Jr., Alberto Escamilla Jr., Daniel Escamilla, John Joe Escamilla, Michael Lopez, Gianncarlo Lopez and Axel Reyes.
