Goodbye too soon. Everyone shall make the journey one day. “Son, you can’t keep me forever” she would say. I knew there would come a day she would answer her name called by our Father Almighty. As sure as sunrise and sunset, her name was called by our Lord. The Day, August 24, 2016. Side by side, two pairs of footprints in the sand, not alone with family holding hands. Mary Louise Solis Rodriguez peacefully departed our world.
Raised in Brownwood, she attended school then after would work at her stepfather’s restaurant “El Chico.” Sometime later she met the love of her life, Gregorio Rodriguez and they married in Littlefield, Texas on October 8, 1954. Relocating back to Brownwood, she took a job with Brownwood Manufacturing for some years, advancing to a supervisor position and a while after being offered an opportunity to oversee the startup and manage operations of a manufacturing plant in Ciudad Acuna, Mexico while relocating and residing in Del Rio, Texas.
Years passed and Mary returned to Brownwood and soon being blessed with a late in life child, her life transitioned to a more stay at home life, but this was only to be brief! Mary volunteered as a teacher’s aide at South Elementary School for some years then decided she wanted to teach so she enrolled to become a certified Confraternity of Christian Doctrine teacher. Once certified to teach C.C.D she became even more close and stronger with her church. She loved teaching and helping, and not just her students, but any and all. She also found time to volunteer in the local community twice a month delivering commodities and making many new friends with her loving, caring heart.
She enjoyed hobbies such as collecting stamps, coins, and even became interested in photography. Taking a course and soon after showing the beauty she saw around her in pictures. She also loved family gatherings, cookouts, and fishing. She loved dancing and going out, country and Tejano music were her favorites. She loved to take weekend trips and sometimes to see new places, other times to visit family. She loved the ocean, vacationing in Corpus Christi at times, visited Galveston beach and absolutely loved Miami, Florida; having stayed a while to vacation and live the “Salt Life.” She never seemed tired, always on the go no matter rain or shine, work or play, she only knew go go go. So as she starts a new journey I can only ponder what she would say to us left here to celebrate her. I answer myself “carry on my loved ones, carry on…”
To carry on and celebrate her life are her children, Alfredo Delgado, Adeleen Rodriguez, Gregory Rodriguez, and Henry Kubicek; sister, Delores Ramirez; brother, Martin, Marcus and wife Sandra, Johnny and wife Ida Perez; niece, Edwiena Cervantes: “special cousins” Linda, Gloria, and Grace Balderama, many many more cousins, nephews, nieces, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Rejoicing with her in Heaven are her mother and father, her loving husband she so missed, Gregorio Rodriguez; her brother, Jesse Solis and one grandchild and great-grandchild. In closing for now I say carry on and live as Mary did the Lord calls our names.
