Sylvia Theresa Chaput Del Castillo

1936 - 2025

Sylvia Theresa Chaput Del Castillo
08/18/1936 - 11/13/2025
Sylvia Theresa Chaput Del Castillo went home to Our Lord on Thursday, November 13th, 19 years to the day after her husband Frank Henry Del Castillo passed away. She was mother to six daughters and a son, grandmother to 16, great-grandmother to eight, and a friend to all.
Born on August 18, 1936 in Chicopee Falls, MA to Joseph "Waldo" Chaput and Mary Rose Connor, she was the second of four children. She spent her early years in Massachusetts, New York, and Maine before settling in Houston with her family at the age of 13. She graduated salutatorian from Galena Park H.S. and earned a B.A. in languages from Rice Institute in Houston. She was active in the Newmann Club at Rice where she met her future husband, Frank Del Castillo, who was active in the Newmann Club at the University of Houston. They married on June 1, 1957 at Holy Name Catholic Church.
Sylvia was deeply dedicated to her faith, her family, and a life of service to others. She was a teacher at heart from teaching kindergarten to piano to religion to ESL. She was also troop leader, chief seamstress and costume maker for her children, drill squad coach, and reluctant wedding planner for her six daughters. She was an active parishioner and choir member at St. Peter the Apostle in Houston and later at Holy Family Parish in Missouri City. She also worked for Houston ISD for many years.
As her children reached adulthood, she finally fulfilled her dream of traveling internationally, most often with her husband and children, and then later with her brother Paul. And travel she did – to Panama Canal, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Belarus, Germany, Israel, Italy, Spain (even witnessing one of her daughters run with the bulls!), and a multitude of other countries.
Sylvia enjoyed the Houston Rodeo and trail rides with her husband, and, in true Catholic form, the occasional casino. She adored her grandchildren and loved scaring them and the neighborhood kids on Halloween. She had a deep love for music, remembering the words to every song even as most other memories drifted away. Although the Alzheimer's greatly impacted her memory of people, places and events, her wit, humor and love of singing continued to bring joy until the end. She will be remembered for her profound kindness, her love of wordplay, and her philosophy of always staying on the sunny side of life. And despite repeated demands, she steadfastly refused to name her favorite child (though we have our suspicions).
Sylvia is preceded in death by her husband Frank Henry Del Castillo, brother Paul Chaput and sister Janet Godwin, and survived by her brother Raymond Chaput; her son and daughter-in-law Frank Jr. and Debbie Del Castillo, her daughters and sons-in-law, Theresa and Javier Prado, Susan and Stephen Dayton, Cathy and Bob Howell, Dorothy and Rick Jarnagin, Maria and Todd Kiehn, and J.J. and Gus Melgar; sixteen grandchildren, and eight great-grandchildren.
A visitation will be held on Wednesday, November 19 from 5:00 pm to 5:30 pm at Cook-Walden Chapel of the Hills Funeral Home, 9700 Anderson Mill Rd in Austin with the Recitation of the Holy Rosary at 5:30 pm and the Vigil Service at 6:00 pm all at the same location.
Immediately following, all are invited to greet the family and share remembrances of Sylvia during a reception also to be held at Cook-Walden Funeral Home.
A Funeral Mass will be held on Thursday, November 20 at 2:00 pm at Holy Family Catholic Church, 1510 5th Street in Missouri City.
Immediately following, all are invited to a reception to be held at 3:00 pm also at Holy Family Catholic Church in Missouri City.
The Rite of Committal will be on Friday at 10:00 am at Forest Park Lawndale Cemetery in Houston.
In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Holy Family Catholic Church in Missouri City, TX, Rice University, the Alzheimer's Association, or Hospice Austin.