Gloria J. Ramirez

Her heart was the only thing bigger than her hair. Her musical laugh tickled your ear drums and lingered in the air like a light spritz of her Estee Lauder perfume. She never met a stranger, refused to make homemade tortillas, always sat in the first pew at church and took in every stray soul (of the human and four-legged variety) she encountered. If you met her once, you were her family – you didn’t get a say in it. Whether you knew her by Gloria, Yaya, Hollywood, Yoya, Barbie, G or Glo, you undoubtedly felt her love. That’s Gloria Jean Ramirez in a nutshell.

Born on October 31, 1951, she ran alongside the neighborhood boys playing football and baseball barefooted in the streets of west side San Antonio. Her tomboy spirit and beauty queen looks allowed her to transition from dirty feet and ripped jeans to high heels and halter tops in the blink of an eye. On top of her schoolwork, she worked grueling hours at a nursing home, cared for her siblings and somehow found time to foster countless litters of stray kittens.

After graduating from Fox Tech High School, Gloria followed her servant heart and devoted her life to a career in nursing. As a licensed vocational nurse, she touched thousands of lives through home health visits, psychiatric nursing and most recently, caring for troubled youth at the juvenile correctional facility. On top of that, she was unofficially the doctor of the family and could cure ailments with home remedies (i.e., red thread on the forehead for hiccups, lighting a newspaper on fire for an earache or getting rid of a case of ojo with an egg and a glass of water) and mainstream methods alike.

Family was everything to Yaya; she was the epitome of a mama bear. Although she only had one biological child, she was a pseudo-mom to many and offered unconditional love in a judgment-free zone. She helped raise her siblings, took nieces and nephews under her wing and doted on her non-blood related babies as well. Her grandson, Xavier, was the apple of her eye and she never missed an opportunity to go on and on (and on!) about his accomplishments. No matter how hectic her work schedule was, she never missed a choir performance, basketball game, PTA meeting or award ceremony. Love really was her superpower. Somehow, she still had some leftover to shower all of her four-legged fur babies with ridiculous amounts of love and snuggles.

Gloria’s retirement was filled with family vacations, cruises, casino time and road trips. She was an admittedly horrible co-pilot, but when she wasn’t snoring away, she was a top-notch car dancer and amateur opera singer belting out Luis Miguel and Earth Wind and Fire like nobody’s business. At home, alarm clocks lost their value and the allure of a 3 a.m. Law and Order SVU watch party had her staying up until sunrise on several occasions. Whatever she did, she did it big. If it was worth doing, it had to be over the top fantastic, just like her.

Although her time with us on Earth was cut short, we are comforted knowing she is with the Lord and reunited with her loved ones in Heaven. You are invited to join us in her celebration of life.

ROSARYTHURSDAY, JUNE 15, 20237:00 PMPORTER LORING MORTUARY WEST1710 WEST LOOP 1604 NORTHLocated Near Sea World

MASSFRIDAY, JUNE 16, 202310:00 AMSAN JUAN DE LOS LAGOS3231 EL PASO STREETSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78207

PROCESSION TO:SAN FERNANDO #2746 CASTROVILLE ROADSAN ANTONIO, TEXAS 78237