Manuela Irene Rodriguez

Manuela Irene Rodriguez, 78, entered into eternal rest with Jesus Christ on October 4, 2019 in Harlingen, TX, where she had resided for the past 23 years of her life. She was born on the 1st of September, 1941 to Guillermo Lopez and Isabel Arriaga in Laredo, TX, where she lived until 1992.

Irene was a devoted wife, loving mother, loyal friend, and selfless grandmother. She spent many summers as a migrant worker and worked in retail for a short period in her adulthood. However, her most treasured vocation was that of a loving homemaker and caregiver. She will be remembered for her exceptional cooking (her homemade flour tortillas were unprecedented), unearthly cleanliness, her timeless fashion sense, and her affinity for “telling it how it is”, a quality that was endearing to everyone she met. Irene was relentlessly devoted to those she loved, never seeking anything in return for her tender care. Her legacy will be in the strength that she exemplified throughout her entire life, many seasons of which were not easy. She persevered without complaint, living life to the fullest in her final decades, and never ceasing her loving acts of service towards those around her. Irene was a devoted Catholic who prayed daily for her children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. There was always something on EWTN that she thought you needed to tune into and hear. Her deeply held values will serve as a moral compass for her family as they carry out the legacy of her unconditional and sacrificial love.

Her beautiful life will be forever cherished by her children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Manuela is preceded in death by her parents, Guillermo and Isabel, and her husband, Lorenzo Rodriguez Jr. She is survived by her children: Jose Luis Rodriguez (Belinda Rodriguez), Lorenzo Rodriguez (Juvencia Rodriguez), Lynn Prieto (Rick Prieto), her siblings: Maria Elena Saenz (Robert Saenz), Lupita Cryder, Tomas Lopez, Judith de Cruz de Lopez, Irene Lopez de Blanco, Francisca Lopez de Garcia, and Leonor Lopez de Rodriguez, her grandchildren: Vanessa Rainer (Javier Rainer), Ricky Prieto, Diandra Prieto, Mikaela Rodriguez (Andrew Messamore), and Daniella Rodriguez, and her great-grandchildren: Ezra Aaron, Camille Elise, Lillian Grace, Olivia Sofia, and John Alexander.

A mass will be held in Manuela’s honor on Monday, October 7 at 8:30 a.m., with a rosary beginning at 7:30 a.m. at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in San Benito, TX. A burial is to follow in Laredo, TX at Laredo Catholic Cemetery at 1:30 p.m.