Irma Angelica Magana

Irma Angélica Magaña of Mesquite, Texas, passed away on Sunday, April 24, 2022 of natural causes at the age of 91. She was born in 1930, the fifth child of Ramón F. and Antonia de la Garza, in Monterrey, Nuevo León, México.

Irma’s father passed away when she was three years old. Starting in her mid teens, she worked at an accounting office in Monterrey for 10 years to help support her widowed mother and siblings.

Irma met Jose Luis (“Pepe”) Magaña in 1953, and they were married in 1955 at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church in Monterrey. Within the next 18 months, Pepe and Irma had their first child, and then emigrated to the United States, settling in Dallas, Texas near family and friends.

Pepe and Irma ultimately raised six children. They became members of Our Lady of Perpetual Help Catholic Church in Dallas for over two decades. There she served as a secretary and translated the church bulletins from English to Spanish for weekly Masses. She also sang in the church choir with Pepe, served on the Catholic Youth Organization (CYO), supporting youth in their faith. Together, she and Pepe taught Sunday school and gave Spanish lessons to individual students.

In 1984, they relocated to Mesquite, Texas where they became parishioners of St. Pius X Catholic Church for 35 years. Irma enjoyed serving, counseling, and comforting those in need. She would often invite people to our home for the holidays or other occasions.

Irma worked as a secretary and stenographer at Southwestern Bell, American Heart Association, and Zales Jewelers, while also taking college classes in the evenings. She eventually earned an Associates Degree from El Centro College. She was passionate about cooking, baking, cake decorating, knitting, and spending time with her family and extended family.

Irma Angélica Magaña is preceded in death by her husband of 66 years, Jose Luis Magaña, her daughter, Maria de Lourdes Magaña, along with her father, mother and her siblings Evangelina, Ramón, Delia, and Oscar.

She is survived by her sister Francisca De La Garza; daughter Marta Magaña; son Joseph Magaña, his wife Susan, and their children Megan and Andrew Magaña; son-in-law Mark Ferber, widower of her daughter Maria de Lourdes Magaña; daughter Leticia Magaña Graybael, her husband Tom Graybael, and their children Benjamin and Sofia Graybael; son David Magaña, his wife Laura Angilyn (Angi) Magaña, and their children Carmen, Gabriel, Paloma, Evangelina, and Ruby Magaña; daughter Gabriela Magaña Banks, her husband Jano Banks, and their children Ariana George and her husband Mark George, Niko, and Lucas Banks.

Irma Angélica Magaña is also survived by other family members in México, including her brother Ramón’s children, Ramón de la Garza, Patricia de la Garza de Chora, and Ana Laura de la Garza de Chora; and her brother Oscar’s children, Oscar de la Garza, Juan de la Garza, Delia de la Garza, Gerardo de la Garza, and Rosalinda Durham, and all of their respective families.