Antonio Ernesto Flores

Antonio Ernesto Flores, a lifelong El Pasoan and cherished father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, uncle, cousin, and friend, passed away peacefully at home on Saturday, May 11, 2024, surrounded by family and friends.

Antonio was born in El Paso in 1933 to Carlos and Maria Manuela Flores. He and his siblings—Carlos, Ramon, Alfredo, Carmen, and Albert—lived and made many special memories growing up in central El Paso and Sunset Heights. After graduating from Cathedral High School, he joined the United States Navy and traveled the world. Soon after, the native El Pasoan returned to settle down and remained in the area for the rest of his life after meeting and marrying Lupita Guevara, with whom he had four children: Tony (Minerva), Albert (Tracy), Alex (Marty), and Art (Atheal).

Besides his four sons and their respective spouses, Antonio is survived by his grandchildren: Anthony, Elizabeth, Alexis, Irene, Andrew, Arthur, Adam, Damien, and Catlyn; his great-grandchildren: Dolores, Scarlett, Vivien, Ava, Nicollette Antonia, Damien, Ulrich, and Auberlene; his siblings Carmen and Albert; as well as countless cousins, nieces, nephews, and other members of his extensive extended family, including the Gomez, Velarde, Lightbourn, Dwyer, Samaniego, and French families. He is preceded in death by his beloved grandparents, Jose and Josefina Flores; parents, Carlos and Maria Manuela; brothers, Manuel, Carlos, Ramon, and Alfredo; his wife and mother of his children, Maria Guadalupe Flores Guevara; as well as many cherished aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.

Antonio was very passionate about his family’s genealogy and enjoyed researching his ancestors’ well-documented history. He was particularly proud to learn about their pioneering roles in the founding of the cities of San Antonio, El Paso, and Ciudad Juárez. He was pleased to discover that his ancestors made him a direct descendant of the Spanish Canary Islanders who traveled to found what is now present-day San Antonio. They were among the first civilians to build near the Spanish presidios in that area. The Catholic Church was built by a group of 15 families who came from the Canary Islands at the invitation of Spanish King Felipe V. San Fernando Cathedral was founded on March 9, 1731, and still stands and operates today.

In El Paso, he was honored to share an ancestral link to almost all the area’s founding families, including the Magoffins, the Harts, the Ascarates, the Stephensons, and the Siquieros, as named by C.L. Sonnichsen in his well-known and highly regarded book about the area’s history, *The Pass of the North: Four Centuries on the Rio Grande*. Some of his ancestors’ contributions to the El Paso del Norte area resulted in them being inscribed into The El Paso County Historical Society’s distinguished rolls known as The El Paso Hall of Honor. Coincidentally, as was the case in San Antonio, his great-grandparents, Hugh and Juana Maria Stephenson, were the first to establish a Catholic church on this side of the border. This church, the San Jose de Concordia el Alto Church, was built on part of their home’s property, which was part of an extensive land grant issued to the Ascarate family by the Spanish government. In fact, Antonio’s great-grandmother, Juana Maria Ascarate de Stephenson, was the first person to be buried in what is now Concordia Cemetery at said church, which had been erected by her and her husband.

In his last few years of life, outside of his family members, Antonio’s biggest support came from his longtime friend, Juanita Ruiz. Words cannot adequately convey or express Antonio or his family’s eternal heartfelt appreciation to Juanita and the Ruiz family. Antonio will long live on in the hearts and minds of those who were blessed to know and love him. The Flores family wishes to express their sincere gratitude and appreciation to all those who surrounded Antonio with love throughout his lifetime. We especially thank those who prayed for, cared for, visited, called, and comforted him and our family in the last few weeks of his life.

A Visitation for Antonio will be on Monday, May 20, 2024, from 4:00 PM to 8:00 PM at Hillcrest Funeral Home-West, 5054 Doniphan Dr., El Paso, Texas 79932, where a Rosary will be held at 7:00 PM. The Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday, May 21, 2024, at 10:30 AM at St. Matthew Catholic Church, 400 W Sunset, El Paso, Texas 79922.