Sylvia Rodriguez Laurel went home to the Lord on April 4, 2020 at the age of 82 in Dallas, Texas after a long battle with Multiple Myeloma. She was born August 16, 1937 to Alfred Rodriguez and Victoria Yanas Rodriguez Martinez.
She is preceded in death by her parents; brother: Alfred James Rodriguez.; father and mother in-law: Reymundo and Anita Laurel; brother in-law: Reymundo Laurel, Jr.; granddaughter: Katherine Elizabeth Laurel and her beloved husband of 63 years Jose Laurel. She is survived by her beloved cousin Elva Smith (Lee), sister-in-law Linda Huizar (Peter); children: Dianne Robinson (Rick), Michael Laurel (Kathleen), Cynthia Blackburn (Steve), David Laurel (Sylvia), Patricia Llanes (Ricardo); grandchildren: Robert Blackburn (Samantha), Steven Blackburn (Carla), William Llanes, Matthew Llanes, Aaron Johnson, Abby Lang (Nick), Marissa Harms, Ian Harms, Sofia Harms; great-grandchildren: Alex Blackburn, Juliet Blackburn, Evan Lang, Mathew Lang, Benjamin Lang; nieces and nephews: Raymond Laurel (Annette), Judi Thomas (Randi), Mark Rodriguez, Ronald Huizar (Sandy), Andrea Beymer (Richard) and other loving family members and friends.
Sylvia spent many years working for Answer, Inc., a physician’s telephone operator service. She began her career there as a telephone operator taking and relaying messages to doctors from patients. Over time she worked her way up to the head of Human Resources. She retired early from Answer, Inc. due to a progressive hearing loss. After her retirement, she went back to work at Fort Sam Houston in the accounting area.
After losing her hearing completely in 1982, Sylvia became an advocate for the hearing impaired. She was the first person in San Antonio to receive a cochlear implant, a procedure that was considered experimental at the time but is now common for those with profound hearing loss. She co-founded the San Antonio Chapter of Self Help for Hard of Hearing to assistant others coping with hearing impairments. Sylvia also created and distributed hearing loss kits for patients in the hospital to help them communicate easier with the hospital staff.
Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.sunsetfuneralhomesa.com for the LAUREL family.
