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TOVARES Mary Rangel Tovares and José Andrade Perez Tovares, longtime San Antonio residents, passed away on October 15 and October 18, 2012, of natural causes in Falls Church, Virginia. After more than 68 years of marriage they departed only 3 days from each other. Their last days were spent side-by-side surrounded by their family. José was born on May 8, 1922 in the home of his maternal aunt Benita and Damacio Tovares on Pastores St. near Brackenridge Park. His parents, Felicitas Perez and Librado Andrade, had come to San Antonio via horse drawn wagon to give birth to José at the home of her sister, a well-known partera, or midwife. José was weak at birth, and a doctor who was called to examine him declared that José would not survive the night and funeral plans were made. But little José refused to die, and after a few days his mother left him under the care of his aunt and uncle and returned to the family farm near Hearne, Texas to attend to her other eleven children. Eventually Benita and Damacio Tovares would adopt José and raise him along with two orphaned cousins they had also taken in, Gilbert and José Tomás Pérez. The three boys were raised as brothers. Gilbert Tovares is an ordained Brother of the Order of the Discalced Carmelites. Tomás Pérez lives in Monterrey, Mexico. Mary was born on 5th St in Austin, Texas on June 13, 1924, to Juan Rangel Valdez and Paula Nieto Hernandez Rangel. She was the youngest of four siblings: Cruz, José, and Santos Rangel, all deceased. The Rangels moved to San Antonio in the early 1930s and the city became Mary's adopted hometown. José and Mary were married in 1944 at Our Lady of Sorrows Church. Mary and José had five children and she was a tireless advocate on their behalf. She valued family and education and was a positive force in her community, encouraging families to seek higher education for their childern. The family settled in the Edgewood Independent School District but Mary and José sent their children to Catholic grade and high schools. Both parents worked extra jobs to afford the schools. Mary was the rock of the family and through tough, common sense approaches encouraged her childern to achieve sucesses beyond those available to her. This included taking the children to Michigan to pick crops as she had done as a child to demonstrate the importance of staying in school. Mary and José took great pride in their children's academic achievements. Two of her children earned PhDs, one JD, and all have advanced degrees. José was a civil service worker for 36 years, most of them at Kelly AFB. He was active in local politics and helped build a Mexican American political base in the 1950's. José was elected to the board of the Edgewood Independent School District where he fought against segregration and was a lone vote for allowing undocumented children the right to free public education. In his spare time he was a bookkeeper and notary public on the city's West Side. José was a long time member of the Knights of Columbus, the Saint Vincent de Paul Society, and both he and Mary were members of Los Bexarenos Genealogical and Historical Society. José and Mary were retired for almost as many years as they worked. Theirs was a life well lived. They spent many of their final years at the home of their son Michael in Falls Church, Virginia, watching telenovelas, and spoiling their grandchildren. A few months before their death, family and friends gathered in San Antonio to celebrate their life at a party at Our Lady of Sorrows, the church where José and Mary were married in 1944. José and Mary are survived by a daughter Maria Olivia, her husband Tom Ashmanskas and their two children Carlos and Rima; son Raúl and his wife Alla; son Joseph, his wife Munya, and their two sons Noah and Isaac, son Carlos and his wife Christy; and son Michael, his wife Victoria, and their children Gabriella and Armando. José is survived by two sisters, Josefina Hernandez and Susie Hernandez, both of San Antonio. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Los Bexarenos Genealogical & Historical Society Educational Fund, P.O.Box 1935, San Antonio, TX 78297 Services Visitation will begin Monday, October 22, 2012 at 4:00 PM - 9:00 P.M. with a rosary to be recited at 7:00 P.M. at Alamo Funeral Home. A funeral mass will be celebrated on Tuesday, October 23, 2012 at 1:00 P.M. at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church. Interment to follow at San Fernando III Catholic Cemetery. You may sign the on-line guest book at www.missionparks.com under the obituary section.

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Mary and Jose Tovares