Lupe G. Rodriguez

Lupe would want me to say that she hit a big jackpot and became the local celebrity at the JW Marriot Rampart Casino. She was a big tipper, charismatic, and beloved in Las Vegas. Lupe was born in San Antonio, TX the youngest daughter of Juanita Gonzales and Augustine Guillen on July 1, 1938. She was the valedictorian at Sidney Lanier High School in San Antonio, TX. Lupe was married to her high school sweetheart Manuel M. Rodriguez for almost 50 years when he passed away in 2008. Impressively, Lupe was an accomplished real estate broker of her eponymous company in San Antonio, TX; and also in New Orleans, LA, and Las Vegas, NV. Lupe always emphasized to not let others define your worth but to succeed in spite of the naysayers. She stressed that we should be true to ourselves and resist the pressure to conform. If one had to describe our mother with one word that word would be strong. Lupe was so strong and resilient. She led by example teaching that in the face of injustice one must persist with class and be 120% better. Lupe was ahead of her time marching for civil rights and advocating for gender, racial, ethnic, and LGBTQ equity. It was important to her that her children be more than tolerant but be empathetic, good citizens and allies to the disenfranchised. Our family vacations always included a side trip to lower income neighborhoods where we were encouraged to be charitable and grateful for our blessings.

Lupe was a naturalist. She made sure that she traveled with her children to our national parks and throughout Mexico emphasizing our relationship with and stewardship of the Earth’s beauty while quoting John Muir and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Always the renaissance woman, dinner time and road trips required that we ‘share something interesting’ which would elicit our juvenile groans; or we would debate politics and current events; or the worst option was a singalong that was a countdown of how many miles were left before reaching our destination. In our youth, Lupe and our Dad Manny bought some acreage in Uvalde, TX that she called the 3C’s Ranch. We had great campouts with family and friends sharing scary stories, jokes, and stargazing. Our mom threw the best parties: birthday parties, Halloween, Easter, and Christmas were HUGE and had all the neighbors, relatives, and friends come for food, fun, and games! She raised the bar for generosity and entertainment and created lasting memories. She often spoke lovingly of her nieces and nephews and the trips she took them on too. Her Christmas outdoor decorations that she created with my Dad always won awards (until the contest was discontinued since they always won). She inspired our love in music and dancing exposing us to classical music, the Motown Sound, James Brown, David Bowie, Aretha, Bob Marley, Flaco Jimenez, and some Disney too. If anything, Lupe was always exceptional and one of a kind. She was an incomparable mother and even better grandmother. Lupe is survived by daughters Esther, Carmela, and Camille; sons in law Rene and Sylvain; and grandchildren Luca and Lauren. When we left for college, mom would say if you look up at the moon, I will also be looking and I will be there with you. Our hearts ache, we miss you, and we will be looking up at the moon always thinking of you—our one in a million Lupe. Mass will be held May 30th at 10am at San Fernando Cemetery. Viewing at Porter Loring Mccullough.