Irma Gloria Sandoval

Irma Gloria Sandoval, 77, of South Houston, passed away on November 17th with her husband and daughter by her side. She was born to David Guajardo and Consuelo Gonzalez on August 9, 1946, in Monterrey, Mexico. Fate would lead her to Chicago, Illinois where she met and married the love of her life, Basilio Alfonso Sandoval. Irma and Alfonso Sandoval were married October 20, 1979, and welcomed their daughter Elizabeth on September 9, 1980. They relocated to Texas in 1982 and settled into their family home in 1983. It was in this same home where she would pass away peacefully 40 years later. In life, she worked for over 30 years in various roles for the Department of Ophthalmology at Baylor College of Medicine and retired at the age of 66.

Irma was a fierce matriarch who took on the responsibility of caring for her four younger siblings at an early age when her mother became a single parent. By the time she became a mother herself at the age of 34 she was highly skilled and qualified. Her life experiences made her tough as nails but she somehow managed to balance her no nonsense style with an abundance of love that she freely shared with her family. Her role as matriarch as well as her love of cooking and baking made her home base for all family gatherings.

Many never knew that Irma was battling breast cancer for the second time. She fought her disease valiantly and was not one to complain. On the contrary, she was always there for others regardless of what she was fighting in her own life.

She is survived by her husband Alfonso Sandoval, her daughter Dr. Elizabeth Sowell, her son-in-law James Sowell her grandchildren Emily and Michael “Bear” Sowell, her brothers Heriberto, Homero, and Ruben as well as her sister Hilda. They invite you to join them for a memorial service at Grand View Funeral Home at 9am on December 4th. All are welcome.