Maria Olga Carrillo Uresti

1934 - 2020

Maria Olga Carrillo Uresti, a wife, mother, and registered nurse who served her community with dedication for over sixty years died Monday, December 7, 2020, due to complications brought on by COVID-19. She was 86.

Olga, as she was known to family and friends, was born October 16, 1934 in Benavides, Texas to Antonia Vaello Carrillo of Barcelona, Spain, and Simeon Carrillo of Benavides, Texas. She was the eldest of two daughters.  She attended school in Benavides where at age 15 she met her high school sweetheart, fellow Senior Class Favorite, and husband of 61 years, Gilberto "Beto" Uresti.

Olga was known to her classmates for her confident, gregarious nature. She was voted Band Sweetheart for her skills as a baton twirler while her all-around likability won her Senior Favorite for the class of 1954. She went on to become a member of the first graduating class of the James

R. Doughtery School of Nursing in 1957, beginning the journey that would define much of herlife and character as a registered nurse and caregiver. Soon after she began professional training at St. Rosa in San Antonio, TX, an hour south of where her husband was studying pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin. Having completed their professional goals, Olga and Beto married August 7, 1959, moved home to Benavides, and had four children who were her pride and joy--- Aaron Rene, Belinda Marie, Patricia Annette, and Gilbert Mario. Together, Olga and Beto owned and operated De Leon's Pharmacy for approximately forty years. Olga would work exceedingly hard at numerous jobs over the years, she began her nursing career working as a director of nursing for the Brooks County hospital in Falfurrias, Texas, and most notably as a School Nurse for over twenty years with San Diego Independent School District,  she was also Director of Nursing for La Hacienda Nursing Home for over twenty years, and Co-owner, Administrator and Director of Nursing of Coastal Home Health in the 1990s, which grew to have a total of ten offices, serving over twenty counties and communities from San Antonio to Brownsville. In 1998, Olga and Beto established Uresti Senior Assistance, where she served as Director of Clinical Operations in addition to working as a nurse in the field for the rest of her professional life.

A stage four cancer survivor, Olga lived a joyful life not dampened by the occasional hardship. She enjoyed many loves outside of her passion for nursing, spending all the time she had off the clock with her family, visiting her parents as often as she could until their respective passings.

She can be well remembered for playing host to parties of her expansive circles of friends, family, and colleagues, as well as cooking for her ten grandchildren whom she adored, playing babysitter whenever she could. A vivacious traveler, she traversed the whole of the continental U.S. multiple times with her husband and children; notably making a yearly summer expedition in a van with her extended family to Las Vegas, to do the thing she loved second most to working: gambling. An especially lucky woman, she would travel multiple times a year to casinos from Las Vegas to Coushatta, where she hit more jackpots than what most could dream. Throughout her life, Olga was a devout Catholic as well as a lifelong Democrat, donating much of her time and resources to causes like the American Red Cross, Catholic Daughters of America, and prominently her husband's numerous campaigns as the County Judge in Duval.

Things about her that endured to her later life with dementia and eventually Alzheimer's were her overt friendliness, a staunch desire to help others, her ability to dance huapangos, and her incredible posture.

Olga is reunited in spirit and preceded in death by her parents Antonia and Simeon Carrillo, sisters Ana Maria "Anne" Smith and Maria Teresa "Tere" Carrillo, and survived by her loving husband and love of her life Gilberto, her beloved children Aaron (Amanda) Uresti, Belinda (Nestor) Garza III, Patricia (Andres) Pérez, and Gilbert Mario Uresti; her cherished grandchildren, Kimberly Michelle Garza Cortez, Aaron (Alyssa) Uresti Jr., Mark A. (Marlenne Garcia) Uresti, Nestor (Katie) Garza IV, Krystal Leah (Dr. Roland) Perez, Tiffany N. Uresti, Andres Pérez Jr., Vanessa A. Pérez, Derek Ryan Garza, Matthew B. Uresti, a step-grandson Trevor Power, and ten great-grandchildren; her last surviving aunt of the Vaello family, Maria Lupita 'Pita' Laird; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins: we remember her best as a wife and best friend, a loving but fierce mother and grandmother, and an overall remarkable human being of exceedingly rare beauty, bravery, and strength.

A public visitation for family and friends will be held on Wednesday, December 16th from 1:00p.m. to 4:00 p.m. at Garza Funeral Home in San Diego. A private Rosary and Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Thursday, December 17th at 2:00 p.m., with Father Pete Elizardo as celebrant, it is limited to immediate family but will be streamed virtually from the Garza Funeral Home Facebook; in lieu of flowers the family is asking that a donation be made to the American Cancer Society or the Alzheimer's Association.

In honor of Olga, we ask that everyone adhere to COVID recommendations issued by national medical professionals. Please continue practicing social distancing, wearing masks, washing your hands frequently, and staying safe.

As we remember Olga, a beloved wife, mother, grandmother, and friend, we will forever be reminded of the love, kindness, and compassion she displayed, the laughter she gave, her beautiful smile that lit up a room, and the love that lives on within those of us whom she loved and who loved her.