Mary Carmen de la Cruz

Mary Carmen de la Cruz, aged 71, entered eternal life on May 19, 2017, after a long struggle with cancer. Mary Carmen was born July 14, 1945, in Great Falls, Montana, the daughter of Joe V. Amaro and Dorothy Margaret Cavanaugh.

Mary Carmen was named after her two grandmothers: Mary Adelle DuBois Cavanaugh and Carmen Amaro Garcia. She was a lineal descendant of the Sisseton-Wahpeton Spirit Lake Nation Tribe of the Dakotas, and a descendant of immigrants from Mexico, France, and Ireland.

Mary Carmen thoroughly enjoyed attending Mass, reading, playing cards and board games, crocheting, sewing, making rosaries for those in need, listening to Elvis Presley‘s music, and spending quality time with her family. She attended John Foster Dulles High School, where she graduated Magna Cum Laude, and served as Senior Class Secretary. She was a member of the Latin Club, Future Teachers of America, National Honor Society, and was voted Most Courteous by her classmates.

Later in life, she attended Wharton County Junior College, receiving an Associate in Arts degree. Upon completion at Wharton, she went on to the University of Houston-Downtown where she received a Bachelor of Science, graduating Summa Cum Laude.

In 1963, Mary Carmen married Juan “Johnny” de la Cruz, and settled in Sugar Land, Texas. They eventually divorced, and she raised their three children Sonny, Karin and Laura.

Mary Carmen worked for the US Postal Service for several years in Sugar Land as a mail handler, mail clerk, and eventually became Postmaster in Needville, Texas. She was a leader of the National League of Postmasters of the United States, and travelled quite frequently around the United States recruiting new members.

Upon leaving the US Postal Service, Mary Carmen began working for the Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston at St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land, Texas. It was during this time that her youngest child Laura entered eternal life.

After the death of Laura in 1992, Mary began volunteering for the San Isidro Cemetery Association in Sugar Land, Texas, and served on their board of directors for many years. She was instrumental in helping the association regain access to their landlocked burial plots. She also researched the cemetery’s history and documented it in a published academic journal.

After completing her undergraduate degree program in 2002, she fulfilled a life-long dream and became a schoolteacher. She taught Religion, Math and Spanish at St. Anne Catholic School in Houston, Texas. She retired from teaching in 2015. She was a much loved teacher and educator who always valued her faith, was totally devoted to her family, and loved God with all her heart.

Mary Carmen was a member of Holy Family Catholic Church in Missouri City, Texas and St. Theresa Catholic Church in Sugar Land, Texas. She was a member of the Catholic Daughters of the Americas, and a charter member the St. Theresa of Lisieux No. 2211 Sugar land, Texas Court, serving as their first Treasurer.

Mary Carmen is survived by her mother, Dorothy Margaret Amaro of Stafford, TX; sister, Barbara Jean and her husband Eleno Flores, Jr. of Conroe, TX; brother, Randolph James Amaro of Manvel, TX; son, Juan José de la Cruz and his husband Patrick Michael Palmer of Houston, TX; daughter, Karin Marie and her husband Richard George Vacek, Jr. of Needville, TX; granddaughter Katherine Lynn Vacek; grandsons, Jacob Michael Vacek and Joshua Aaron Vacek; the father of her children, Juan de la Cruz, Sr.; several nieces and nephews; and a number of other relatives and close friends.

She will be laid to rest at San Isidro Cemetery in Sugar Land, Texas alongside her daughter, Laura and surrounded by 6 generations of her departed family including her great great grandmother, Juana del Rio; great grandmother Maria Valadez; grandmother, Carmen Amaro Garcia; father, Joe V. Amaro; brother, John Joseph Amaro; and daughter, Laura Lynn de la Cruz.

In addition, Mary Carmen is preceded in death by her much loved father-in-law, Alfredo de la Cruz, Sr. and his wife Maria de Jesus Piña de la Cruz.

A celebration of her life will be held on Tuesday, May 23, 2017 at Earthman Southwest located at 12555 S. Kirkwood in Stafford, Texas from 5-9 PM, with a Rosary starting at 7 PM. On Wednesday, May 24, 2017 at 11 AM, a Mass will be held at Holy Family Catholic Church located at 1510 5th St in Missouri City, Texas. Father Sunny Joseph, O.S.H, Pastor will preside over the service along with Mary Carmen’s first cousin, Father John Cavanaugh as concelebrant. A reception for family and friends will be held at the Holy Family Catholic Church Parish Hall beginning at 1:30 PM.