Estella L. Trevino

Estella Lane Trevino, 95, passed away on Monday, April 30th, 2018, at Waterford Gardens Assisted Living Facility in Mission. Her daughter, Chiqui T. Guerra, was with her Mom at the time of her death, and was praying the Chaplet of Divine Mercy for her.
Estella Lane Treviño was born on August 6th, 1922 in Red Gate, Texas and spent many great years with her family there. She was preceded in death by her parents (Jack Lane Sr. and Estella P. Lane) and her siblings (Francisca Xavier Lane, Samuel Lane, Jack Lane Jr., Aminta L. Garza, and Jovita L. Villarreal. She was also preceded in death by the love of her life, Jose Luis Treviño. She is survived by her daughter Chiqui T. Guerra, son-in-law George X. Guerra, and her grandchildren Brian J. Guerra (wife Valerie), Leanne M. Horler (husband Blair), and Steven M. Guerra (wife Sarah). Also surviving Estella are her great-grandchildren, Xavier B. Horler, Oslo Q. Guerra, Sean A. B. Horler, and Cooper K. Guerra, with a great-granddaughter on the way. She is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews.

She lived a very full life both personally and professionally. She was passionately dedicated to her family, career, and faith with the seamless ability to serve them all without sacrifice to any. She was a member of Sacred Heart Parish in Edinburg and later of St. Joseph Church when she and her family moved to South 14th Street. Estella started her career as an entrepreneur at the early age of 18 as the owner and operator of her own beauty salon for 21 years. She was then elected and served as the first female Justice of the Peace in Hidalgo county beginning in 1959. After working as a night auditor at the Rhodeway Inn in McAllen for several years, she then took a position as the Executive Director of the Edinburg Housing Authority in 1972, a position she held with distinction for over 40 years. Here she began her trail-blazing career as the first female director of a Rio Grande Valley Housing Authority and was affectionately referred to as “Mrs. T.” Her dedication to ensuring children, senior citizens, and the disabled had safe affordable housing led her to receive the Hall of Fame Award for Outstanding Service from the Texas Chapter of the National Housing and Redevelopment Officials in 2005. Her service to the community reached far and wide to both the young and old over the years: caring for the elderly by providing housing at the Towers Residential Facility in Edinburg, serving on the Board of the South Texas Independent School District, being appointed by Bishop Pena and Flores as a Trustee of the La Merced and El Rosario Charitable Trusts, and serving with distinction several terms on the “Silver Haired Legislature.” Of particular honor in 2009, Estella was named “Woman of the Year” by the Edinburg Chamber of Commerce. In addition to the long list of accomplishments, in 2011, the city of Edinburg issued a Proclamation naming September 23rd as Estella Lane-Trevino Day.

While “Mrs. T” lived a very long and rewarding professional life, the part of her life that meant the most to her was her family. Her loving husband of 43 years, Jose Luis Treviño, and her precious daughter Chiqui gave her her greatest joy in life. She gave her love endlessly to her growing family. First, with her son-in-law George, then her 3 beautiful grandchildren, then their spouses and her great-grandchildren. As she was affectionately called by her grandchildren and great-grandchildren, “Bobie” was the epitome of family and love. Whether it was attending every special event, making home-made pies and tortillas full of love, taking them to their favorite movies, or sending them off with a “little money to buy a coke,” Bobie was always there. Even when life created physical distance, her love was always palpable to all and remains so even now after her passing. Her love lives on in each of us. We were blessed to have known her and to have been bathed in the light Estella Lane Treviño shared with this world.

Her family will receive family and friends on Friday, May 4, 2018 from 5:00 p.m. with a Rosary to be prayed at 7:00 p.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church, 501 East Kuhn Street in Edinburg. Catholic Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, May 5, 2018 at 9:00 a.m. at Sacred Heart Catholic Church. Catholic burial will follow to Hillcrest Memorial Park Cemetery, 1701 East Richardson Road in Edinburg. Having the distinguished honor to serve as pallbearers will be: Brian J. Guerra, Steven M. Guerra, Blair A. Horler, John E. Gomez, Ralph F. Garza and R. Richard Villarreal. Honorary pallbearers will be: Rudy Ramirez, Thomas Villarreal, Jr. Carlos Luis Villarreal, Tony Flores, Arturo D. Hinojosa, David Erickson, Jose Baldemar Flores, Gary Behelfer, Don Cardenas, Ignacio Rodriguez, and all past and present Housing Authority Board and Staff. In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to: The University of Texas Rio Grande Valley for "The Estella Lane Trevino Endowed Scholarship", The Univesity of Texas Rio Grande Valley, C/O Division of Institutional Advancement, 1201 West University Drive,EITB 1.210, Edinburg, Texas 78539-2999. Funeral services have been entrusted to Johnny Garcia, Manager and Staff of Ceballos-Diaz Funeral Home in Edinburg.