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Hello there, I’d like to tell you about my grandma, Mary Collazo Alcorta. She left us last week to be with the Lord. My family really doesn’t know how we’re supposed to go on without her. She was the light that shined so brightly over all of us, and maybe some of you for so many years.
She was born on April 10th, 1938 to Lorenzo Sanchez Collazo and Julia Morales Collazo in Comfort, Texas. Her father was her hero. She would follow him around on horseback all day long on the ranch where they lived and he worked. Her mother passed to her a green thumb that she would later be known for in our family.
She was 13 when she tried to get her first job working at the Bluebonnet Hotel in downtown Kerrville in 1951. She tried to get an application, but they found out her age and sent her right out the door. Always a firecracker she went straight home, put on a full face of makeup, high heels and marched right back into the hotel. This time she told them she was 15 and was hired right on the spot!
The Bluebonnet Hotel is where she fell in love with a young handsome bell hop of just 17, my grandfather, Frank Alcorta. They were married 3 years later on January 15, 1955. Later that year, they welcomed their first born, Mario. In 1962, she gave birth to their first daughter, Hope, and in 1966, my mother, Carrie, came along.
In 1967 shortly after my mother, Carrie, was born, my grandmother became sick and was diagnosed with Leukemia for the first time. She didn’t know if she would live to see her children grow up. She went to church one Sunday and a pastor prayed over her and claimed her Leukemia would be healed. She went to her oncologist a week later and was declared cancer free. The doctors didn’t understand what happened, she told them she was healed by the “Great Physician.”
When she graduated from barber college in 1968, she became the first female Registered Barber to work at the Kerrville State Hospital. She went on to work alongside my grandfather as a husband and wife barber team at the hospital until they both retired in 1993.
My grandmother was also well known throughout the evangelical community. She would preach at many churches in our community throughout her retirement. She was a leader in the church and many sought her counsel, advice, and prayer. She was a mighty woman of God.
She would eventually succumb to Leukemia a week after being diagnosed for the second time at the age of 84. My grandmother’s story is not a story of sadness though, it’s the story of a survivor, believer and a life lived to the fullest. She went on to live another 55 years before Leukemia came back around. She was able to see her children and grandchildren grow up. She even got to see a few of her great-grandchildren come into this world. Her life was a gift from God, and she made sure to let everyone know it.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Lorenzo and Julia Collazo; her three brothers and four sisters, Placido Collazo, Tomas Collazo, Lorenzo Collazo Jr., Connie Mayo, Carmen Frausto, Margaret Abraham, and Sally Ayala.
Mary is survived by her husband of 67 years, Frank Alcorta; her sister, Julia Salinas; and brother, Edward Collazo; her son, Mario Alcorta and his wife Lillie, and their children Vanesa, Aaron and his wife Rachael; her daughter, Hope Lindemann and her children, Darlene Sutton and her husband Jordan, Christine Millman and her husband Ivan and her daughter Leah, and Jeanine Chavera and her children Grayson and Aubrey; her daughter, Carrie Weaver and her husband Craig, and their children Casey and me, Corey.
Memorial services will be held at 4pm this Saturday October 8, 2022 at Grimes Funeral Chapels with Pastor James Wilson officiating.
Our family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Davita Dialysis Center, Loretta Keese, and Alamo Regional Transit for being so good to her over the years, and lastly, Century Hospice for making her comfortable and able to pass in her own home surrounded by loved ones.
She was born on April 10th, 1938 to Lorenzo Sanchez Collazo and Julia Morales Collazo in Comfort, Texas. Her father was her hero. She would follow him around on horseback all day long on the ranch where they lived and he worked. Her mother passed to her a green thumb that she would later be known for in our family.
She was 13 when she tried to get her first job working at the Bluebonnet Hotel in downtown Kerrville in 1951. She tried to get an application, but they found out her age and sent her right out the door. Always a firecracker she went straight home, put on a full face of makeup, high heels and marched right back into the hotel. This time she told them she was 15 and was hired right on the spot!
The Bluebonnet Hotel is where she fell in love with a young handsome bell hop of just 17, my grandfather, Frank Alcorta. They were married 3 years later on January 15, 1955. Later that year, they welcomed their first born, Mario. In 1962, she gave birth to their first daughter, Hope, and in 1966, my mother, Carrie, came along.
In 1967 shortly after my mother, Carrie, was born, my grandmother became sick and was diagnosed with Leukemia for the first time. She didn’t know if she would live to see her children grow up. She went to church one Sunday and a pastor prayed over her and claimed her Leukemia would be healed. She went to her oncologist a week later and was declared cancer free. The doctors didn’t understand what happened, she told them she was healed by the “Great Physician.”
When she graduated from barber college in 1968, she became the first female Registered Barber to work at the Kerrville State Hospital. She went on to work alongside my grandfather as a husband and wife barber team at the hospital until they both retired in 1993.
My grandmother was also well known throughout the evangelical community. She would preach at many churches in our community throughout her retirement. She was a leader in the church and many sought her counsel, advice, and prayer. She was a mighty woman of God.
She would eventually succumb to Leukemia a week after being diagnosed for the second time at the age of 84. My grandmother’s story is not a story of sadness though, it’s the story of a survivor, believer and a life lived to the fullest. She went on to live another 55 years before Leukemia came back around. She was able to see her children and grandchildren grow up. She even got to see a few of her great-grandchildren come into this world. Her life was a gift from God, and she made sure to let everyone know it.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Lorenzo and Julia Collazo; her three brothers and four sisters, Placido Collazo, Tomas Collazo, Lorenzo Collazo Jr., Connie Mayo, Carmen Frausto, Margaret Abraham, and Sally Ayala.
Mary is survived by her husband of 67 years, Frank Alcorta; her sister, Julia Salinas; and brother, Edward Collazo; her son, Mario Alcorta and his wife Lillie, and their children Vanesa, Aaron and his wife Rachael; her daughter, Hope Lindemann and her children, Darlene Sutton and her husband Jordan, Christine Millman and her husband Ivan and her daughter Leah, and Jeanine Chavera and her children Grayson and Aubrey; her daughter, Carrie Weaver and her husband Craig, and their children Casey and me, Corey.
Memorial services will be held at 4pm this Saturday October 8, 2022 at Grimes Funeral Chapels with Pastor James Wilson officiating.
Our family wishes to extend our sincere thanks to Davita Dialysis Center, Loretta Keese, and Alamo Regional Transit for being so good to her over the years, and lastly, Century Hospice for making her comfortable and able to pass in her own home surrounded by loved ones.