Maria “Rose” Rodriguez, age 93, of San Antonio, was born, December 16, 1930 to Juvencia and Ezequiel Mandujano. She graduated from Brackenridge H.S. in 1949 and attended Durham’s Business College in San Antonio. She worked in several jobs as a secretary, and retired from the Bexar County Sheriff’s office, where she was a Reserve Deputy Sheriff.
Rose often told her children, and grandchildren, “Listen to your mother and please go to church”. The custom of blessing her children and grandchildren after a visit or bidding them farewell before she left them was a simple yet powerful gesture she learned from her parents. Receiving the blessing from her was always cherished. Telling family you love them was so important to her. When her husband left one Saturday for work, he forgot to tell her goodbye before leaving the house. When he realized it as he got to the car, he walked right back in the house and said “I came back, I forgot to tell you I love you”. Little could she have imagined that she would loose him that night. Speaking your love for someone should never go unsaid.
Her greatest joy in her later years was her furry companion Precious. Precious is a sweet little Shih Tzu that never left her side. They had a special bond, and it certainly gave her comfort and companionship no human could. Precious was laying with her until her last breath.
She and her husband were very active members of St. Ann’s Catholic church while they raised the children. She was also a proud member of San Juan de Los Lagos church, and served in the Mariachi choir for several years.
Maria had 4 children:
Rosalinda Carranza (deceased)
Judy Neal (Terry Neal – deceased)
Joyce (Rodriguez) Condit (Bruce Condit)
Veronica (Rodriguez) Clarke (Glenn Clarke)
She is preceded in death by her husband, Arturo Rodriguez, and daughter Rosalinda Garcia Carranza.
She is survived by children, Judy, Joyce and Veronica; her 10 grandchildren: Arthur, Joshua, Dacoda, April, Brandon, Christopher, Crystal, Dominic, Cindy, and Jennifer; her 15 great grandchildren: Ethan, Jordan, Sienna, Arturo, Anjelica, Nayeli, Odin, Lyla, Jace, Chasity, Heavenly, Nova, Vega, Zarina, and Anastasia; and her great great grandchild, Azalea.
A mass for Maria will be held, Wednesday, March 20, 2024 at 10AM at San Juan de Los Lagos, 3231 El Paso St. San Antonio, TX 78207. Family Prayer and final farewells will occur that same evening from 5PM to 9PM with a rosary at 7 PM at Roy Akers Funeral Home, 515 N Main Ave. San Antonio, Texas 78205. Burial will be the following morning, Thursday, March 21, 2024 at 9AM at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery, 1520 Harry Wurzbach Rd. San Antonio, Texas 78209.
