Yolanda Vega Torres

Yolanda Vega Torres, 67, quietly entered the splendor of God's heavenly kingdom on November 12, 2019, to meet her Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. She was born on November 18, 1951 to her parents, José G. and Paula O. Vega, and lived most of her life in Harlingen, Texas. Born prematurely, she developed a fearless resilience and powerful inner strength that would become a calling card of her personality throughout her life. She lived life on her own terms, creating a world that sheltered and protected the people that she cared about. Throughout her long and active life she gave everything she had to foster and sustain a safe and beautiful home with loving reminders of family, faith and tradition. Her whole life was filled with a constant optimism in the goodness and grace of Almighty God, and anyone who knew her felt the reassuring warmth of her faith in Jesus Christ. Throughout her whole life she centered Him in everything that she did, and called on Him to guide her through the rough paths of this cold, unfeeling and uncaring world.

Raised by an upstart veteran of World War II and a strict but loving mother born and raised in the grasslands of New Mexico, she was instilled with a deep respect of tradition and family. At an early age she learned the tenets of the Catholic faith and adhered to them all of her life. She passed on age-old devotions and traditions that had been transmitted from her grandparents, emigrants from old Mexico. She was a reliable source for practically forgotten family lore, folk tales, and kitchen wisdom. She was also an amazing cook and an impeccable baker (chief among her most requested dishes were her amazing popcorn balls and exquisite shortbread). Growing up in a household of sisters, she learned early on the challenges of living with people with varying personality types and tastes, and in time developed a quirky, funny and completely unique way of self-expression that showed itself in an adventurous taste in arts and crafts. She had a passion for floral design, thrifting, antiquing, and refinishing furniture. Her home, stocked with hundreds of restyled resin figures in curio displays, is a proof of her love of folk art. She was able to repurpose everything from dollar-store figurines to large family heirlooms and breathe new life into them.

She attended Harlingen High School and graduated in 1970. She attended two years at Pan American College at Edinburg where she picked up her meticulous and attentive bookkeeping skill. Her attentiveness to detail and her dexterity even got her a job as a welder Harlingen Flight Navigation, a rare job for a woman to have in the 1970s. Throughout her whole life she worked hard for everything she had, and instilled the same respect for hard work in her children, grandchildren, and nieces and nephews. 'Everything you have is right in front of you,' she would say. 'All you need to be successful is to be positive.' As a young mother, she always thought of new and novel ways of making money stretch, a talent that followed her into old age. But she never skimped out when it came to celebrating special moments in the life of her family. She planned and catered three quinceañeras, a wedding, birthday and graduation parties, and hundreds of weekly backyard barbecues. Thanksgiving and Christmas at her house were unforgettable. Everything she did was done with love and careful attention to detail.

She was a model wife and a loving mother and grandmother, and her family was the focal point of her life. She also cared for her father in his last years, and was present with other members of the family when he died on January 3rd, 2007. She never shied away from the opportunity to serve her family and community. She was not afraid of confronting people who threatened its survival or its integrity. She also assumed the role of caretaker and mother when others couldn't: when her sister suffered a stroke in 1989 she cared for her two boys, in addition to caring for her own family. She was a tireless cheerleader for her husband, children and grandchildren. She invested her own time and money in ensuring that her husband's fledgling sign business was able to continue, even going so far as to adapt her home so that he could use it as an office. People along Wright Street in Harlingen will remember the rainy, windy October weekend in 1998 when she hired a horse-drawn carriage for her daughter's quinceañera, a feat that would have not been possible had she not sold her rings to pay for it. For her granddaughters birthday party, she hired miniature ponies. Her garden, full of tropical plants, bird feeders and wind chimes, brought a sense of the otherworldly to the little concrete-bound lot that she'd known all her life. Her meticulous care for life ensured that people who had no chance of surviving elsewhere could thrive. Her care for others extended even to distant family and friends, who knew and loved her generosity, humor and kindness.

She is survived by her husband of 45 years, Rogelio Vento Torres, her three wonderful children Amanda, Rogelio, Jr. and Leticia Torres, and her grandchildren, Justin Michael, Rayanna Marie and Edward Anthony Torres. She also leaves behind two loving and devoted sisters, Margaret Vega Camacho and Olivia Vega Bruno (Benito Bruno) and dozens of bereft cousins, nieces, nephews, extended family, and close friends who loved her immensely. Her life was by no means easy, and she suffered with bouts of ill health especially in her later years. She encouraged and supported those who loved her until the day she died. She is tremendously missed by her family and friends.