Maria Teresa Viramontes Holguin

The soul of MARIA TERESA VIRAMONTES HOLGUIN, SFO, beloved daughter, sister, sister-in-law, niece, aunt, godmother and friend, departed her earthly shell to rejoice with her Lord and departed loved ones on September 30, 2020 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. “Chacha” was born in November 1930 in La Union, New Mexico, the twelfth child of Jose Marin Viramontes and Inez Enriquez Viramontes. Educated by the Sisters of Loretto at Holy Cross School, she also attended Court Junior High School and graduated from Las Cruces Union High School in May 1949, where she was named Honor Graduate of her class. That same year she was named Las Cruces’ Centennial Queen, and her junior year had been elected Governor at the New Mexico American Legion Auxiliary’s first annual Girls State. Las Cruces again honored her in 1999, naming her the Grand Marshall of Las Cruces’ sesquicentennial celebration parade. Teresa enrolled at New Mexico A&M (NMSU) in September 1949 and graduated with a Bachelor of Science in Education in June 1954. While in college, she was one of two young Las Cruces women to break the racial barrier of the school’s Greek system by pledging and becoming an active member of Zeta Tau Alpha Fraternity. Degree in hand, she then taught home economics at Magdalena High School and Tularosa High School, until she began her remarkable career as a social worker at Catholic Charities, a service of Catholic Family Services, where she was a caseworker. She was also a caseworker at R.E. Thomason General Hospital, in El Paso, and was a County Supervisor for Dona Ana County Children's Services. In 1969 she returned to school, and in 1971 obtained her Master's of Social Work degree at St. Louis University, St. Louis, Missouri. Upon completion of her master’s degree, she accepted a position as Chief of Adoptions for the State of New Mexico, followed by a position with the US Department of Health, Education & Welfare, Region 6, in Dallas, Texas, where she was a program specialist for the Administration on Aging, and later was a program specialist for Research & Development for Universities in the five-state region. While at HEW, she served as President of the HEW Employees Association. Upon the reorganization of HEW, she became employed by the Social Security Administration in its Region 6, and retired from the US Government in 1988. Following her retirement, she kept busy using her home economics background and extraordinary people skills performing food demonstrations at supermarkets, but missing the social work she had come to love, became employed by The Salvation Army in November 1993 as a caseworker in the Department of Social Services, Emergency Family Assistance program, Dallas, where she was named Employee of the Year in 2001. Professionally, Teresa served as President of the Classroom Teachers Association and Teachers Education Association in Magdalena and Tularosa, and also served as state president of the New Mexico Vocational Education Association. Teresa was a professed member of the Secular Franscisan Order, and was a member of Catholic Daughters of America, having served as Regent, Court of Our Lady of Lourdes. At St. Elizabeth of Hungary Parish in Dallas she was also a member of the Altar Guild, a Eucharistic Minister, a Lector, and served for many years as coordinator of the Rite of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program. She was also an active participant of Las Guadalupanas, Merrymakers and St. Vincent DePaul Society. In January 2016, Teresa returned to Las Cruces and briefly resided with her niece Martha Beasley and Martha’s husband Jimmy, but being the independent soul she was, she wanted to be on her own as much as possible and she moved into the Morningside building at the Villages at Northrise where she lived until her death. She loved living at Morningside - she was part of the welcoming committee for new residents, reminding them when laundry and other significant days were, enlisted her friend Amber Rascon to make sure other residents made it to Mass on Thursdays, she knew the names of Morningside staff’s children and grandchildren and remembered the kids’ names and most recent “adventures”. Even amid the COVID-19 pandemic, she reached out to as many residents and staff as she could and made their days brighter. There are so many staff people at Morningside that the family of Maria Teresa “Chacha” would like to acknowledge and thank individually, but at the risk of missing someone and hurting feelings, please, each one of you knows who you are and know that we will be eternally grateful to you for the care, respect and love you showed her. Teresa was preceded in death by her parents, Jose Marin Viramontes and Inez Enriquez Viramontes; brothers Jose E. (Conke) Viramontes, Luis E. Viramontes, Armando E. (Porky) Viramontes, Rev. David E. Viramontes, James R. (Jimmy) Viramontes and Robert E. (Boots) Viramontes; and sisters Maria Luisa Viramontes, Jesusita Viramontes, Consuelo V. (Guera) Flores, Corina V. Lopez, Lillian V. Torres and Irene E. Viramontes. Survivors include numerous nieces, nephews, cousins, Godchildren and friends. Visitation will be between 6:00 and 7:00 p.m., at Immaculate Heart of Mary Cathedral, 1240 S. Espina Street, on Friday, October 9, 2020, followed by a Franciscan Rosary for the repose of Teresa’s soul. The Funeral Mass will be celebrated at Holy Cross Catholic Church, 1327 N. Miranda Street, at 8:00 a.m. on Saturday, October 10, 2020. Interment at Hillcrest Memorial Gardens will follow Mass. Casket bearers will be Buddy Viramontes, Victor Viramontes, Stephen Lopez, Herb Torres, Arnold Viramontes, Michael Viramontes and Eric Koch. Honorary bearers are Joe Lopez, Eddie Flores, Ethan James Rice, Keith Williams and Eduardo Holguin. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and resultant limited space at Holy Cross Catholic Church, please give Teresa’s family priority for seating at Mass. Mass will be live streamed at www.holycrosslascruces.org  In lieu of flowers, the family suggests a donation to your favorite charity.Service arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Baca’s Funeral Chapels of Las Cruces, 300 E. Boutz Road, 527-2222. For online condolences logon to www.bacasfuneralchapelslascruces.com