Funeral service for Bertha Cuellar Miranda, 95, of Lufkin, will be held Thursday, April 25, 2024 at 2PM at Gipson Funeral Home with Dr. Robert C. Shield officiating. Bertha will be laid to rest in Garden of Memories Memorial Park.
Bertha Cuellar Miranda better known as Mrs. Miranda, died in Lufkin, Texas at the age of 95 on April 21, 2024.
Mrs. Bertha Miranda is survived by her daughter, Elizabeth (Betty) Miranda King Witherspoon and life-long partner, Billy Cordova Jr. of Nacogdoches; granddaughter, Miranda Aleese Witherspoon, fiancé, James and great-grandson, Lysander Dean Alfredo Heffley of Ketchikan, Alaska.
Mrs. Miranda was born on August 13, 1928 in Grand Prairie, Texas to Santiago and Cleofas Cuellar. She attended Trinity University in San Antonio, the University of Texas Pan American in Edinburg, Texas and graduated from SFASU in 1969 with a master’s degree in education.
She married Alfred Miranda, after meeting him in Dallas, Texas in 1951 while working at the family restaurant, El Chicos. In their early years of marriage, she enjoyed working as an insurance agent and dabbling in real estate. After moving to Lufkin, Bertha worked for the Lufkin ISD as a classroom teacher for over twenty years. In 1976, Dr. Pruitt, assistant superintendent asked her to develop the ESL program to serve several children who were Spanish-only speakers and were not being served. The ESL program initiated eventually and grew into the bilingual program serving 200 children at the time of her retirement.
She taught at Coston, Redland, Slack, and St. Patrick's Elementary schools.
Mrs. Miranda also enjoyed teaching Conversational Spanish at Angelina Jr. College for nearly two decades. Her teaching schedule enabled her to travel throughout the U.S. and Europe in the summers with her children. After her retirement, she enjoyed globetrotting with her beloved husband, Al.
Bertha was also an accomplished wood carver, painter, jewelry maker, carpenter, cook extraordinaire, seamstress, and avid reader. She was happiest when she was brokering business deals or teaching. She was a dedicated individual who loved children and who was passionate about sharing her life experiences of working hard, overcoming hardships, and using her education to help those less fortunate.
She was an active church member of every community she spent time in and was instrumental in establishing three churches. She joined the First United Methodist church with her family in 1968 and often volunteered her services as teacher, translator, and carpenter in Mexico on mission trips. The foundation of a church building was begun with the help of the First United Methodist church in Lufkin and later privately financed by Bertha and her husband Al. She also helped establish a church for Spanish speakers in Lufkin, Texas. The sanctuary of Sao Paulo in Alamo, Texas was furnished by the Mirandas and designed to resemble their home church in Lufkin, Texas.
Bertha and Al enjoyed volunteering wherever they were currently living whether it was in East Texas, South Texas, Colorado, or Mexico. She also spent over twenty years traveling to Progresso, Mexico where she helped distribute school supplies bought with donations from the Angelina County community and helped several families better their lives. Mrs. Miranda was appreciated for funding high school and college scholarships for several deserving students. One of the students she was most proud of and who she supported throughout his schooling is now a practicing physician in Reynosa, Mexico.
Visitation is scheduled for 1pm – 2pm on Thursday, April 25, 2024. All are welcomed to attend the funeral service and celebrate Bertha’s life at 2pm at Gipson Funeral Home the same day. Burial at Garden of Memories Memorial Park will be private. She will be buried next to her beloved husband Al with a headstone that reads: Colorado, here we come!
In lieu of flowers, please send donations to the Pulmonary Fibrosis Foundation and pulmonaryfibrosis.org and to Hospice in the Pines.
Condolences may be offered at www.gipsonfuneralhome.com
Services have been placed in the trust of Gipson Funeral Home.
Partager l'avis de décès
v.1.9.6