Gilda Marie Soria

Gilda Marie Soria, 73, passed away peacefully on Thursday, March 21, 2024, surrounded by her beloved family members. Unless you are familiar with the 1946 movie, 'Gilda’ is a name you don’t often hear nowadays, and if you were to look up its meaning you would find 'golden’ or ‘gilded’. When her parents Frank T and Mary Lou Sandoval welcomed her to this world in Robstown Texas in 1950, they could not have chosen a better name for their first-born daughter, as she lived a life full of grace, beauty and with a certain ‘glow’ you could feel in her presence.

Gilda was to be the eldest of five daughters in the Sandoval household and is survived by her husband Guillermo Soria; their two sons and families, Carl Andrew ‘Andy’ Soria (Toni, Carson and Cooper) and Daniel Edward Soria (Jessica and Amelia); their informally adopted daughter Karen Wang; sisters Yvette, Yvonne, Cynthia (Hossein) and Cecilia; and many loved cousins. From her sisters’ children she is survived by nieces, Veronica Huerta and Kimberlee Soliz (Jason), and nephews JR Huerta (Maria), Mark Huerta (Jennifer), Richard Huerta (Julee), Moji Sooudipour and their respective families.

After graduating from Robstown High School in 1969, she went on to study at Texas A&I University Kingsville, where she would meet her best friend and soulmate, Guillermo Soria. After getting married in 1976 they moved to Houston Texas, where Gilda would pursue her master’s degree in Speech and Hearing Pathology at the University of Houston. For the next 30 years, Gilda worked as a speech pathologist in the Houston Independent School District, where she helped children with speech and learning disabilities, to overcome challenges and improve their life skills. After retiring from HISD, Gilda (and her husband) founded GMS Therapy Services, which employed a small group of speech therapists that provided home health services to children in need. Her commitment to the children and communities she served was unparalleled, waking up at 5 am every morning to drive across multiple school campuses, and rarely ever missing a day of work.

In 1982, Gilda gave birth to her first son Andy Soria and three years later had her second son Daniel Soria (the more handsome/overall better son). Gilda was a dedicated mother to her children and provided a nurturing home full of love, encouragement, and home cooked meals. Guillermo and Gilda, affectionately known as ‘Gil & Gilda’ or the ‘Gils’, spent their afternoons and weekends taking the boys to piano lessons, band recitals, and soccer and tennis tournaments. As an avid reader herself, Gilda spent many summer days taking the boys to the local library, where they would spend the afternoon reading, playing at the park, and getting a Frosty from Wendy’s afterwards. She was the best mother a child could ever ask for, yet her love did not end with her own children, as she also served as a mother figure for three other teenagers who she welcomed into her home (Caleb Dzul, Niels Schröder and Warren Yang).

After retirement, Andy (her favorite son and final editor of Mom’s obituary) and his wife Toni gave Gilda the blessing of her first grandchild, Carson Soria in 2016, who was followed two years later with the arrival of her second grandchild, Cooper Soria. In 2021, Daniel and his wife Jessica gave Gilda her third grandchild, a beautiful baby girl, Amelia Juliet Soria. Gilda was an amazing grandmother who loved planning and decorating for the children’s birthdays and holiday parties. All she needed was the ‘theme’ of the party and she would take care of the rest, from the custom paper plates and wall banners, to baking a special cake for the occasion. Her love for her family could be felt (and tasted!) each year during the holidays, when she would make her legendary broccoli rice casserole during Thanksgiving, and order matching pajamas for the whole family during the Christmas holidays.

But before children and grandchildren, there was one constant in Gilda’s life – her husband of 48 years, Guillermo. Gilda and Guillermo’s love for each other was unconditional, and will always be, eternal. It was this love that helped them get through times of despair, uncertainty, and sickness. It was from this love, Gilda was able to go to work with joy and patience in her heart to help countless children achieve their goals. It was this love that provided a loving home for her children and grandchildren to thrive and will leave us with wonderful memories. And it was from this love, if you ever knew her, you would, and will always feel her glow.

A visitation for Gilda will be held Friday, March 29, 2024 from 12:30 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. with a Rosary to follow at 1:30 p.m. Her funeral service will start at 2:00 p.m. and the committal service to follow; and a reception to follow the committal service. All services will be held at Forest Park East Funeral Home and Cemetery, located at 21620 Gulf Freeway, in Webster, Texas.