Honorable Mario E. Ramirez Jr.

Judge Mario E. Ramirez, Jr. passed away peacefully, surrounded by his family, on December 24, 2025. He leaves behind a legacy of service done with passion, fairness, and humor, and a loving family he cared for deeply.

Judge Ramirez was born on September 5, 1950 in Laredo, Texas. He was raised in Roma and graduated from Rio Grande City High School in 1968. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from Notre Dame in 1972. He was an avid Notre Dame football fan, traveling regularly with his wife Noelia and friends to see the Fighting Irish play in South Bend and around the country.

After graduating from Notre Dame, Judge Ramirez decided to pursue a legal career and attended St. Mary's University School of Law, where he earned his J.D. in 1974. In 2019, St. Mary's honored Judge Ramirez as a Distinguished Alumnus.

Judge Ramirez devoted his professional life to public service. He started his legal career working for the Department of Public Welfare in Laredo. In 1976, Judge Ramirez and his family moved to McAllen, and he began his nearly 50 years of service to our community as a judge. He first served as an Assistant Municipal Court Judge for the City of McAllen. In 1980, he was appointed as Judge of County Court at Law No. 2 of Hidalgo County. In 1981, he was appointed to serve as Judge of the 93rd District Court of Hidalgo County. In 1983, he began serving as Judge of the newly created 332nd District Court of Hidalgo County, where he presided for 41 years until his retirement in December 2024. In his years of service, Judge Ramirez was blessed to work with a devoted court staff. He cherished his dear friend Tootsie Barrera and all his staff, and the family thanks them for their service and friendship.

Judge Ramirez once said that "serving as your judge of the 332nd District Court was the honor of a lifetime." It truly was. The Texas Senate recognized his service as being done with "unparalleled integrity, fairness, and courage and with widespread admiration for his fairness and high standards of judicial conduct."

In his years of service, Judge Ramirez served in leadership roles as President of the Hidalgo County Bar Association, Hidalgo County's Administrative Presiding Judge, Overseer of the Hidalgo County Juvenile Probation Department, a Director of the Texas Center for Judiciary Board of Directors, and on the Committee for Legal Services to the Poor in Civil Matters, among numerous rolls. Judge Ramirez was passionate about juvenile justice issues, in particular. In recognition of his influence on our juvenile justice system, in 2008, Hidalgo County named its new Juvenile Justice facility the Judge Mario E. Ramirez, Jr. Juvenile Justice Center.

Judge Ramirez is survived by his wife of 53 years Noelia, his children Melissa Ramirez (Chris Sileo), Rebecca Ramirez Gearhart (Troy), and Mario Eduardo Ramirez (Jessica), nine beloved grandchildren, Lucie and Audrey; Addyson, William, Derrick and Parker; and Noelia, Esme, and Hazel, and his brothers Norman, Jaime, Roberto and their families. He was preceded in death by his father Doctor Mario E. Ramirez, Sr., his mother Sarah Ramirez, and his sister Patricia Kittleman.

Friends are cordially invited to join the family for a visitation beginning at five o'clock in the afternoon with a Recitation of the Holy Rosary at seven o'clock in the evening on Tuesday, the 30th of December at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in McAllen. The Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at ten o'clock in the morning on Wednesday, the 31st of December, where Fr. Gregory T. Labus is to officiate. The Interment will immediately follow in Roselawn Cemetery in McAllen.

The family wishes to thank all Judge Ramirez's friends and family who called and visited him, all his caregivers including Dr. Salil Mangi, the caring staff at Doctor's Hospital at Renaissance and Windsor Arbor View Rehabilitation Center, Dr. Noe Oliveira and the staff at the Wound Care Center, and the doctors and staff at MD Anderson in Houston.

The family asks that, in lieu of flowers, those who wish may make a donation to M.D. Anderson in memory of Judge Mario Ramirez, Jr.