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Gloria was born in Parita Texas to Bruno and Simona De La Rosa Gonzales. She was the first girl after eleven boys. She grew up on the family dairy farm in what is now Calaveras Lake. The family sold the farm and moved to China Grove in 1963. She attended East Central High School and was in the marching band, graduating in 1969. After graduation, she attended San Antonio Business School. Her first job was at Frost Bank as a keypunch operator and her supervisor was her late brother Julian. She sometimes would go for an after work dinner with Julian and another brother, Gilbert, at Mi Tierra Cafe. She worked for many years at the San Antonio Express-News as a keypunch operator and customer service representative where she met her husband, Ron. After leaving the Express-News she worked at the Farm Bureau Bank as a personal banker. Every place she worked she became a mentor to her co-workers guiding many through the rough patches in their lives. Gloria is a two time cancer survivor. After beating cancer a second time, with the extraordinary help of the BAMC Oncology team, she became a BAMC volunteer. Gloria grew up in a strict Southern Baptist tradition. She attended the Belen Baptist Church with her family and sometimes taught the small children Sunday school. As she got older she found paster Robert Ganaway at the Alliance Bible Church where she found a spiritual home and many new friends. She met her husband, Ron, while working at the Express-News and they were married at St Monica Catholic Church in 1996. Gloria was very active in her children's lives. She worked two jobs so her son Joe can go to San Antonio Christian school to get a good solid Christian education. When Joe was in the band at East Central high school she was a band mom and very involved in the ongoing of the band. She was president of the St. Monica School PTO for two years while Heaven was attending and she assisted Ron in teaching Sunday school classes. When Heaven was in the Wagner high school band, she was a band mom also. Gloria was preceded in death by her parents Bruno and Simona Gonzales and her siblings, Joaquin Gonzales, Simon Gonzales, Jose Maria Gonzales, George Gonzales, Michael Gonzales and Julian Gonzales. She is survived by her husband, Ron, son Joe Zuniga II, daughters Stephanie Smith, Sonya Sellers and Heaven Valenciano, sister Helen Gonzales, brothers Felipe Gonzales, Juan Gonzales, Bruno Gonzales, Gilbert Gonzales and Robert Gonzales, 5 grandchildren and 7 great grandchildren. Visitation will be held on Wednesday, March 18, 2026 from 5:00p.m. to 8:00p.m. at Dellcrest Funeral Home, 2023 South W.W. White Rd. San Antonio, Texas 78222 Funeral Services will be held on Thursday, March 19,2026 at 10:00a.m. at Dellcrest Funeral Home with interment to follow at Santa Isabel Cemetery, 11176 Stuart Rd. San Antonio, Texas 78263

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Maria Gloria Woods

March 30, 1951 - March 12, 2026