Maria De Jesus (Mary) Casas

On November 13, 2023, Mary J. Casas, the heart of our family, entered peaceful rest. That day, we are sure angels above yelled, “cue the mariachi music, she’s coming!” and the music could be heard echoing in heaven as her heavenly family rushed to meet her and welcome her. On earth, to say she was a loving wife, mother, and grandmother is an understatement. She gave everything to her family. There is no day that we didn’t feel her love and care. She was also so strong-willed and adorably stubborn. As we like to say, she was so feisty! She met every challenge head-on, and nothing stopped her from doing what she wanted, not even rheumatoid arthritis. She made the world fit her.
Growing up in Juarez, Mexico and El Paso, Texas, Mary or Churris as she was known in her family, was the oldest of five sisters and the most mischievous and in her own words, the most peleanda. Stories, now legends, are still told about her today in the neighborhood, including the time she encouraged her sisters to launch water balloons from the roof of her house to the street down below. The fun continued until a passerby knocked on the door and told her mother of the shenanigans happening above. When rain falls from above now, we’ll think to ourselves, “Momma is up to it again.”
In her high school years, she moved to Montebello, California, where she liked to spend the weekend at the beach with her friends, suntanning and listening to music like The Four Tops, The Supremes, The Temptations, and the Beatles, whom she saw live at the Hollywood Bowl.
It was in 1969 in California that she was introduced to the one who would become the love of her life, Manuel. They met through her cousin, whose husband was working at a gas station with Manuel. According to our mom, our dad came over to clean the car window, took one look at her legs, and that was it. Once they were married, Mary and Manuel moved to San Antonio, his hometown. In San Antonio, they built their life and their family. First came the girls, Melisa and Marisela (Marcie), and just when they got nervous that it was going to be nothing but girls, along came Manny.
Over 53 years of marriage, Manuel and Mary saw each other through difficult times and many happy ones, including Manny marrying his wife Patti, who they saw as another daughter, and welcoming three grandchildren: Lauren, Erin, and Alexander. This was after Mary said, “I’ll never be a grandmother!” Not only did she get to be a grandmother, she was the best one. She got to see her grandchildren grow up and tell them how much love she carried for each of them.
When people ask later, what was Mary like? You’ll only have to look at her children and grandchildren to see the light she left behind. But you should also know she adored her husband and the life they built together. She loved football, particularly the UTSA Roadrunners and Dallas Cowboys. She loved celebrating birthdays, holidays, and any special occasion that brought the whole family together. She loved the color yellow, so much so that there was never a question of what color to paint the house or what color of flowers to plant, and there were always lots of flowers because she loved them and said, “You can never have too many.” She could enter a room full of strangers and, by the end, leave with everyone’s phone number. In fact, this was how she met her best friend, Maria. Later, once she discovered Facebook, there were always new friends to add. She loved Chinese food and was always ready to go and eat. She always made sure everyone was fed; no one could leave the house hungry, including Charlie, our family dog. “Feed that poor dog” was her favorite saying. She drank coffee – her cafecito – at night with sweet bread. She would send texts at 1 am in the morning, she would talk to people on Facebook at all hours of the morning and night, she never missed remembering anyone’s birthday, she sent a text for every holiday, and she believed she would never miss a flight because airplanes would wait for her. She was playful and funny. She was magic, light and love and now this woman who was an angel on earth is now an angel in heaven. Her family waits for the time we can be with her again.