An avid sports enthusiast, Estela could be found cheering for her beloved Houston Astros, America’s Team the Dallas Cowboys, and the San Antonio Spurs. As the matriarch of the Ayala Family, Estela cared for and loved well beyond her physical and mental capacity ensuring the well-being of all she held dear. Her continuous devotion to her family was the bedrock that fueled her grasp to life and lead to her fight up to the bitter end. Estela’s tenacity for standing up for one’s family, living an honorable live, and selflessness was demonstrated through her marriage to a United States Marine, the raising of three United States Marines and a United States Army Medic.
Estela was preceded in death by her parents, Flumencio and Teodora Benavides; husband and Korean War Veteran, U.S. Marine Corporal Gregorio Y. Ayala; brothers, Maximo, Jesus, Guadalupe, Ben, and Reymundo; sisters, Nicholasa, Tomasita and Ester and granddaughter, Kristine T. Ayala.
Left to cherish her and uphold her precious memory are her children, John and Valerie, Greg and Janie, Joe and Esther, George and Viola, Jimmy Ayala, Oscar and Thelma, Sylvia and Luis Tovar, Lupita Ayala-Janosek, Alex and Martha, Ernest and Carolyn, Roland, & John Andrew and Ashleigh Ayala, 24 grandchildren, 16 great-grandchildren, and a multitude of nephews and nieces. But most importantly her beloved German Shepard, “Sally”.
Although she has left many with a heavy heart in her passing, the journey ahead will endure with a heart full of love, happiness, and honor of having Estela in all our lives.
Visitation and Holy Rosary will be held at Funeraria del Angel, 549 Cheyenne. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church and interment will follow at Rose Hill Memorial Park. Due to the current situation with Covid 19, services will be private.
You may send fond memories and expressions of sympthay to: www.funerariadelangelcheyenne.com