Hortencia Lydia Valdez

Hortencia Lydia Valdez died peacefully in her home on September 7, 2024, after standing tall against an aggressive cancer. It was a small irony she metaphorically stood so tall given that, physically, she was quite petite. So petite, in fact, she was called “Peewee” by her family for most of her life.

Lydia, the name she went by professionally, worked at hair salons for roughly five decades, with many of those years spent managing Hallelujah Hair in Houston. She forged meaningful relationships with clients, knowing more than their styling preferences; she knew their lives, their loves, watched their families grow up and grow big. She was beloved by her colleagues, who considered her family and described her as an exceptionally special person.

Everyone was touched by her generosity, but the gift people coveted most was an exquisitely soft, perfectly baked chocolate chip cookie. Her secret recipe was no secret at all. She used the Nestle Toll House Chocolate Chip Cookie recipe printed plainly on the back of the package. But for some reason, try as one might, using the exact same ingredients and ratios, no one could replicate her divine confection.

She traveled the world, developing a deep appreciation for its history. She bundled up in an English trench coat against the dreary London rain. She toured the Vatican Gardens. She ate bratwurst in Germany and saw tulips in The Netherlands. She adventured around Mexico. She posed at the Grand Canyon and admired glaciers in Glacier. She peeped leaves in New Hampshire and scrambled up a mountain in Vermont (when she was 73!). She took pictures of everything she saw.

She also made her house a singular destination for friends and family. She embraced guests with the warm smell of cumin as she made enchiladas. She would easily give one of the dozens of rocks she personally painted to visitors. She happily pointed out the lilies and roses and vines she cultivated but asked guests to forgive any weeds they may see, reminding folks, it is Houston, after all, and with all this rain, the weeds grow faster than the plants.

She loved television and film, amassing an impressively eclectic collection of DVDs. She especially appreciated the ritual of seeing movies in the theater: buying popcorn, getting lost in a plot, talking about what worked and what didn’t when she emerged from the darkness. She held special regard for anything based on Jane Austen’s novels or starring Clint Eastwood. She read widely and often, with books stacked deep in shelves lining her home, a testament to her bottomless curiosity and love of stories.

She is survived by her husband, Ray; her son, Philip; her daughter, Andrea, and son-in-law, Beau; her granddaughter, Leah; her sisters Molly and Alice; and many treasured nieces, nephews, and cousins. A rosary will be held on September 16, 2024, at 7:00pm at Brookside Memorial Park on the Eastex Freeway. A funeral mass will take place the following day, September 17, 2024, at St. Matthew the Evangelist Catholic Church in Houston at 10:00am.

She loved flowers. Bring them on.

A memorial gathering for Hortencia will be held Monday, September 16, 2024 from 6:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Brookside Funeral Home, 13747 Eastex Freeway, Houston, TX 77039. A rosary will occur Monday, September 16, 2024 from 7:00 PM to 8:00 PM, 13747 Eastex Freeway, Houston, TX 77039. A funeral mass will occur Tuesday, September 17, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at St. Matthew the Evangelist Catholic Church, 9915 Hollister St, Houston, TX 77040.