Elisa J Castillo

Exuding the same reassuring, and ever-present strength and joy she radiated in life, Elisa Castillo shared her strength for the last time in this life as her angelic spirit left to be with her fellow angles and Jesus on February 3, 2022. She made her first appearance in deep South Texas on May 15, 1942, entering the world as the second born to a hard-working Hispanic family that would later come to give her and her older sister Rebecca nine more siblings.

Growing up the daughter of migrant workers in this ever-increasing family, her loving devotion and sense of peaceful leadership was shaped by her role as one of the eldest siblings. The activities of her youth would vacillate between picking cotton in the fields and helping care for the family’s brood of younger siblings. Her incredible work ethic was just one demonstration of her unwavering strength as it led her towards a fearless purist of becoming the first member in her family to not only complete a high school education, but also later obtain a business accounting certificate. She used this education to secure a career at ASARCO and build a stable home where she shared all the responsibility, laughter and love life has to offer with her beloved late husband, Jorge for 46 years of marriage. Through building this new life her sense of devotion and leadership never ceased to convey itself in such a joyful manner that to be loved by her was to know an example of the kind of love that can only be described in 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8. If the Lord choses Saints to put on this earth, she was certainly one of them.

To know Elisa was to know her joie de vivre; there wasn't a holiday, birthday, graduation, school sports event or ceremony that she didn’t extend her loving energy to. Never was there an occasion too formal, nor event too dour for her to bring her voluminous laugher and contagious smile to. She lived her life fully and passionately, fervently appearing to enjoy and revel in every single moment. Her unwavering devotion, leadership and affection towards her loved ones was continuously demonstrated in all her actions. Whether it was cooking tortillas in her famous yellow kitchen, letting any “helpers” think they were pulling a fast one sneaking them off the counter, only to smile as she replenished the ever-dwindling stash of flour-filled treats. She relished her role as Aunt Elisa to over 25 nieces and nephews, likely with hopes that she taught at least one of us how to fill a room with joy and laughter strong enough to cover cigarette smoke and the occasional long-winded El Grito yell. Elisa and her Jorge were godparents to numerous of these nieces and nephews, all of whom had the honor of sharing many cigarette-smoke and El Grito yelling filled family gatherings in their garage. Perhaps one of the greatest examples of her steadfast love and devotion towards her family was when, with no hesitation, she assumed the role of her mother’s caretaker for nearly a decade. She did not have children of her own but was instead a mother to all, and as time passed Elisa came into the role she will forever be known as by all those that had the honor of loving her-the family matriarch. Along with her beloved and aforementioned husband, Jorge, Elisa is pre-deceased by her parents, Simon and Luisa Rodriguez and her siblings Mario, Jesus (Sonny), and Angela Rodriguez. Left with decades of fond and colorful memories are her seven siblings: Rebecca, Alolpho, Raul, Juan and Joe Rodriguez, Eva Ray, and Belen Rodriguez-Montoya. A celebration of Elisa’s life will be held on Monday, February 7th at 2 p.m at Memorial Park Funeral Home in Amarillo, Texas. If you would like to send flowers please do so through their website, like her spirit her favorite color was yellow, and she always had yellow and white flowers in her and Jorge’s late family home.