Mary C Gallo Campa

Mary Gallo Campa was born on April 25, 1924 in San Antonio, TX to Fernando Gallo and Ofelia Villarreal. Mary and her beloved brother, Luciano (Chano) Gallo were raised by their Grandmother Francisca Gallo. Her Grandmother Gallo had many children, and Mary and her brother became the younger “siblings” of the family. While poor, Mary’s childhood at her grandmother’s house was rich in the love of her extended family. In particular, her relationship with her aunts – Louisa Marshall, Oralia Quiroga, Angelica Perez, and Francisca Gallo de Lozano - was a special one, with her aunts acting more like surrogate mothers and big sisters. Later in life, it was common to see Mary, walking with a cane or walker at the time, regularly picking up her aunts and driving them to Luby’s for lunch or to do some shopping. The sight of Mary leading these women, all having varying degrees of mobility issues themselves, holding on tightly to each other was both endearing and a bit frightening. Mary also has two half-sisters, Gloria Barley and Yolanda Galvan. She was very close to Gloria and her husband Jack Barley as well as her cousins Irma Munoz and Maruca Paes and sister-in-law Virginia Gallo.

Given her childhood, Mary had very strong ideals that valued the love of family the most. She was married at age 17 to Rosendo Campa and they had five children: Sonia Campa Juarez, Mark Campa, Veronica (Niki) Campa Mettrick, Norma Campa and Gregg Campa. Although self-taught, Mary regretted never having completed high school (she went back to school in her 50s for a GED, and despite the help of tutoring, she could never quite master algebra). Instead, she worked hard to see that her kids received a good education, working various jobs and sacrificing to help pay for Catholic school. She took great pride in their educational accomplishments. Mary treasured her grandchildren: Renée Juarez, Nicholas Juarez, Jeremy Falkner, Justin Falkner and Skylar Madilyn (Madi) Campa. She also had two great grandchildren: Jeremy Fuentes and Angelina Falkner. Her grandchildren and great grandchildren gave her much joy throughout her life, and her grand kids helped her immensely in her later years by doing everything from driving her to her doctor’s appointments and doing her Christmas shopping to programming her telephone to speed dial for the shopping network for her next jewelry purchase (one of her biggest pleasures). She loved playing poker, loteria, and Chinese checkers with her grand kids and great grand kids.

In addition to her family and friends, Mary had several passions. She loved fine dining and learning about new cuisines. She would often try new recipes on her kids – some successful and some not so successful. Imagine her kids surprise when she would serve “exotic” foods like spanakopita (Greek spinach pie) or paella for dinner when all they wanted was spaghetti and pudding. She was most happy, however, during the holidays when family and friends would gather for a “tamalada,” to make tamales and share stories. She also had a big sweet tooth and shared her love for chocolate with her granddaughter, Madi. Mary had stashes of chocolate hidden throughout the house and she liked to sneak candy to all the little ones when parents weren’t looking. Mary was also a huge movie buff and until recently, loved going to the movies and discussing film plots with her kids.

Mary’s greatest hobby was reading. She was a voracious reader – reading everything from Nicholas Sparks to Isabel Allende. In her later years, she took great pleasure in keeping her mind alert by reading a book every one or two days and working on word puzzles. She loved the librarians at the Collins Garden Branch, Mary and Julie, and was appreciative of their long-standing efforts to send her the latest best sellers.

Mary held numerous jobs but enjoyed those that involved kids the most. This included working as a part-time bus driver for handicapped children and as a Mama Patrol. She loved children and regularly entertained little visitors from around the neighborhood.

Mary was not perfect – no one is. She could be very stubborn and quite determined in an effort to get her own way. But her strong will also made her a fighter, and twice she came back from what doctors believed to be life-ending illnesses, and extended her life by more than three-years. Mary was also notorious for mixing up her words. She would say “she used to exercise on a thread mill (tread mill)” or “a politician won an election by a landscape (landslide).” Her family and friends got used to her mispronunciations and Mary would laugh at her mistakes just as hard as anyone else. In the end, it is these small things that we remember and cherish; little imperfections that make her perfect to us.

Mary Gallo Campa lived a full 89 years, and she passed surrounded by her children and grandchildren peacefully and serenely. While she will be missed, we know she will be with us forever. We ask all to join us in celebrating her life.

The family appreciates the tremendous outpouring of love and support during this time of grief. In addition, the family wishes to express their heartfelt thanks to the staff at the Mission Trails Baptist Hospital for their compassionate care during Mary’s final days.

In lieu of flowers, memorial donations can be made in Mary’s name to

The San Antonio Public Library Foundation

625 Shook Avenue

San Antonio, TX 78212

www.saplf.org