Otila picked cotton in her youth and attended school by riding horseback and often fondly remembered causing mischief with her siblings, Josephine, Richard and Daniel. Mrs. Velasco proudly graduated high school in 1942, and married her husband, Gustavo Velasco, Jr. in 1949. She began working at a factory after high school and told stories of walking to work when the oil lamp streetlights were still lit. She also worked as a seamstress and as the Manager at El Chico Restaurant on Greenwood Road alongside her husband Gustavo for over 20 years. Later in life she enjoyed making outfits for her granddaughter on her sewing machine and sang Willie Nelson tunes. She liked reading the newspaper, especially the horoscopes of those she loved, watching game shows and old Westerns, and visiting with her grandchildren. Otila will be remembered for her feisty spirit, her dancing and for her sense of humor.
Mrs. Velasco joins her beloved family who passed before her; parents, Francisca and Richard Flores, Sr.; brothers, Richard Flores and Daniel Flores; sister, Josephine Angeles; husband, Gustavo Velasco; sons, Daniel Robert Velasco and Carlos Raphael Velasco, and her daughter, Mary Frances Velasco.
She is lovingly remembered by her daughter, Mrs. Angelica Velasco Traas and her husband, Robert Michael Traas; grandson, Ian Traas and his wife, Jennifer Boyles; granddaughter, Charlotte Traas-Jarvela and her husband, Jacob Jarvela; great grandchildren, Weston, Oliver, Peter and Daphne.
A visitation will be held Saturday, September 23, 2023 from 11:00 AM to 12:00 PM at Centuries Memorial Funeral Home, 8801 Mansfield Road, Shreveport, Louisiana 71108, followed by a Celebration of Life Service at 12:00 PM. Otila will be laid to rest in Forest Park West Cemetery, 4000 Meriwether Road, Shreveport, Louisiana 71109.
