MANUELA TREVIÑO ALANIS

SAN JUAN - Manuela Treviño Alanís “Tia Mela” entered into eternal rest at the age of 102 of natural causes on Wednesday, April 22, 2015, at her daughter’s residence in San Juan, Texas. “Tia Mela” was born in Donna, TX and was the last surviving member of her generation of nine children of the late Arnulfo Treviño Treviño and Garza Leal families that emigrated from Mendez, Tamaulipas, Mexico and the Alanís Peña and Perez Salinas Longoria families that emigrated from Los Aldamas, Nuevo Leon, Mexico. These families pioneered the border region of the Rio Grande Valley when it was primarily inhabited with mesquite and cacti. Their heritage left a dedication of love for education, as evident by the number of higher education degrees earned by her children and her grandchildren. She is survived in love by her family, René (Sylvia Santiago), Diana (Humberto Gonzalez), Rev. Sylvia (the late Alejandro De La Garza), Santiago O. (Azeneth Alvarez), Felipe, Ph.D. (Gracie Moreno), and Rev. Dr. Javier; her 14 grandchildren and 20 great-grandchildren, who are proud to call her “Grandma Mela!” Their lives have been enriched by her guidance and blessings. Manuela is preceded in death by her husband in 1998, two infant children, three sisters, Josefina, San Juanita, and Aereopaja and five brothers, Agustin, Jesus, Adalberto, Romeo, and Alonzo. The Alanís family received family and friends April 24, 2015 at Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan. A celebration of life service took place Saturday, April 25 at St John Lutheran Church in San Juan. Interment followed at Valley Memorial Gardens in McAllen. In lieu of flowers the family suggests, with gratitude, that memorial contributions be directed to the Santiago and Manuela Treviño Garza Alanís endowed scholarship for education at the University of Texas Rio Grande Valley. (UTPA Advancement Office, 1201 West University Drive, Edinburg, Texas 78539-2999) or the charity of their choice. Funeral services are under the direction of Memorial Funeral Home of San Juan.