Mrs. Dolores I. Zapata de Amante

As God's daughter, Dolores was a devout Catholic with a life-long devotion to the Virgin Mary. She was patriotic and a native of El Paso, Texas. Dolores was a proud "Longhorn" and an alumna of the University of Texas at El Paso and the University of Texas at Austin where she earned her BA and Masters degrees, and teaching credentials. A beautiful and ambitious young lady she and her sister were engaged by the U. S. Navy as a lieutenants to be a teachers for the officers' children, which afforded them a great opportunity to see the world for a brief while. Eventually, it was in San Diego where "Lola" (her nickname in those days) fell in love, married, and raised her children. From being a beloved granddaughter to becoming a grandmother along with many other roles in between, Dolores' primary and most passionately held role was being a caring and loving mother. Dolores never wavered from accepting all the God-given graces and tremendous earthly responsibilities of being a parent. She was a devoted mother to her five children: Joseph, Christine, Franz, Edgardo, and Adrian. A single parent for most of their lives, she must be lauded for having ensured that all of her children healthily reached adulthood as responsible individuals. Making sure they knew to utilize their talents and strengths to the best of their abilities while impressing upon them to lead good christian lives. Undoubtedly, Dolores' second most important life-long role was that of a highly accomplished Teacher. In her 51+ years of teaching service she strove for and attained excellence in education while having touched thousands of young lives at all grade levels (from university to elementary school). In her early professional years, she favored teaching college level Spanish Language and Literature, her specialties. It was at the Franciscan University of Steubenville where she happily achieved her Professorship. Later, she would always view this as her favorite college teaching experience, because of the positive Catholic spirit that was prevalent throughout the campus. Dolores loved to engage and expand the minds of all her students. Ultimately, she spent the bulk of, as well as, finished her lengthy teaching career in the elementary schools system primarily focusing on the first, second and third grade levels. She loved being surrounded by children, and it was at the elementary level that she felt she could have the most positive impact upon her pupils. By the time these young people graduated from her classroom they would often do so at an advanced level, but most importantly taking with them the excitement, inspiration and discipline to continue to advance their learning and knowledge in the remainder of their academic studies – and beyond! The love of classical music was a significant element in the fabric of her complex life. The piano was her favorite instrument, which she began playing at an young age. Among her childhood dreams and aspirations was to become a concert pianist (she was even asked to play the piano which aired on the local radio station), or to become an orchestral conductor (she helped lead her high school orchestra). In addition to emphasizing the importance faith and education, she instilled in her own children an appreciation for the Visual and Performing Arts by having them take music and dance lessons, such as, piano, violin, and ballet. Dolores sacrificed and worked tirelessly to give her children as much cultural exposure as possible. Dolores was an exceptional person: mother, grandmother, granddaughter, daughter, sister, aunt, teacher, teacher of teachers, professor, mentor, advocate, and devoted christian. Dearest Mother, you are loved and adored and your absence is acutely felt among us – you'll be deeply missed by all your loved ones! Dolores is survived Joseph, Franz and Adrian, her sons; Christine, her daughter; Christian and Olivia, her grandchildren; Margaret, her sister; and, by Raymond, her nephew.