Rosa F. Fernandez

September 4, 1945 – March 19, 2026

Rosa Flores Fernández was born on September 4, 1945, in Guerrero Viejo, Tamaulipas, Mexico, and passed from this world on March 19, 2026.

She came to the United States as a young child and grew up in Alice, Texas. As a girl, she would climb into the branches of a mesquite tree and sit for hours, drawing portraits of her siblings, studying the light, and looking up at the sky—where clouds became animals, figures, and fleeting worlds only she could see.During her high school years, Rosa was known for her beauty, her kindness, and her artistic talent. She was named Hub City Relay Queen and won four beauty competitions. She was well liked and made it a point to smile and acknowledge everyone. That warmth stayed with her throughout her life—people were drawn to her wherever she went. She had a beautiful smile, a gentle presence, and took a

genuine interest in others. She met the love of her life, Nicolas V. Fernández, while attending Texas A&I University (now Texas A&M). Together they built a life rooted in devotion, intellect, and shared work. Rosa earned her bachelor’s degree in art and education,

and she spent her life teaching, creating, and always learning.

She was an accomplished and prolific artist who exhibited her work throughout her life, including at Centro Cultural Aztlan and the Guadalupe Cultural Arts Center. In the 1980s, she founded Rose Art Gallery in Corpus Christi. Her paintings traveled beyond Texas, finding homes in California, Boston, and New York. She had a gift for bringing the smallest details to life through color, language, and

feeling. She loved music deeply and was often found listening to and singing along with the iconic voices of Luis Miguel, Linda Ronstadt, Ray Charles, and Bobby Darin, as well as mariachi music, which she especially loved to hear live. Whether immersed in melodies or laughing through her favorite film, The Blues Brothers,

she did so with spirited, eccentric joy. Rosa’s creativity and her love for family, friends, all living things, and lifelong learning were an inspiration.Rosa also loved to garden. She planted and cared for many trees, including fig and crape myrtle, among others, creating spaces of beauty and shade. In her front yard, she built a small pond that became a place of refuge and quiet reflection.

Rosa’s mind was expansive and alive. She loved conversation and could speak on many subjects, including art history, the natural world, the care of plants, the history and culture of Mexico, and even quantum physics and the universe. She was endlessly curious.

She devoted many years to teaching bilingual pre-kindergarten, shaping the earliest experiences of countless children with patience and care. Alongside her husband, she also helped build A Plus Education and Flores Fernández Engineering.

She was preceded in death by her husband, Nicolas V. Fernández; her father, Regulo Montalvo Flores; and her mother, Concepcion Salinas Flores.

She is survived by her children: Ana Fernandez, Eva Fernández, Maria Isabel Fernández (Eduardo Dueñez), and Nicolas Flores Fernandez (Dawn Fernandez); her grandchildren: Julian Ramirez, Anabella Ramirez, Felix Liev Fernandez, and Remi Sol Fernandez; and her siblings: Regulo Flores, Enrique Flores, Gloria Trevino, and Carlos Flores.

She will be forever loved and missed by all who knew her. She had a beautiful heart and is a beautiful soul we will carry with us throughout our lives.

Visitation will be held at Memory Gardens Funeral Home, 8200 Old Brownsville Road, Corpus Christi, TX 78415, US, on April 6, 2026, from 10:00 am to 1:00 pm, with a Chapel Service there the same day from 12:00 pm to 1:00 pm. Interment will follow at Memory Gardens Funeral Home on April 6, 2026, from 1:30 pm to 2:00 pm.