Doña Patricia Castillo Gallardo Lara

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On the morning after her passing on August 21, 2025, the church bells of El Cerro Grande en San Luis Potosí, México rang to announce the departure of Doña Patricia Castillo Gallardo Lara for el otro lado.

Doña Ticha, as she is affectionately known by many, passed away peacefully surrounded by her querida familia, both in person for those en El Norte and virtually for those in the mother land; she had her Muerte Bonita with dignity while listening to her favorite song, Dos Gotas de Agua.

Unbeknownst to those en El Norte, and in typical Doña Ticha fashion, she had strict secret orders for church bells to be rung in her rancho because she wanted to ensure her gente knew when she departed this plane of existence.

BUT…

…she Loved the louder, more majestic and royal sounds of the church bells en Armadillo de los Infante, the county seat. El Armadillo is located on the whole other side del municipio. In other words, Doña Ticha, who made it to the age of 97, had orchestrated plans years in advance for the whole region of San Luis Potosí to know when she had passed away as a book end to her Muerte Bonita.

And in her own words, “quiero que todos sepan que se murio Patricia Castillo Gallardo Lara,” going as far as invoking three branches of last names.

Always the bonafide storyteller, Doña Ticha leaves behind her legacy through stories that live with all of the branches she helped to grow by anchoring roots on both sides of the border. As her branches, her querida familia will continue to tell her stories, create new ones, and grow her branches as her legacy moves forward as Castillos, Gallardos, Sanchezes and Laras.

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Shortly after the bells rang this morning en El Cerro Grande, the church bells rang en El Armadillo announcing the arrival of Doña Patricia Castillo Gallardo Lara to her parents, Don Querino y Doña María, husband, Cruz, her children Javier, Carmelo, and Celia, y su nieto, Cesar.