Our father was born on May 28, 1898.  He was the oldest child of Teodoso Lopez and Juanita Martinez. Our father was a very loving man.  I think that's what we remember most about our father.  After we lost our mother in 1963 he became both mother and father.  His sense of humor was such a sweet side of his personality.  I remember having squabbles with one of my sisters or the other, whenever he would get after whoever was fighting, one of the other sisters would ask dad "Yo no, verdad daddy?" And he would reply "No, mejita si todas fueran como tu, fuera un varvaridad." He would listen to soap  operas on the radio every night.  But I remember that before bedtime he would always do the sign of the cross on each of us.  What I like to remember most of all is when he would tell us stories of what we used to do when we were little.  He used to tell us that he would never remarry and give us a step-mother.  He did the same to Hermana Lola.  After his divorce from her mom he never remarried until she had gotten married.  I consider ourselves raised very well, considering we did not have our mother.  Not that we did not miss her terribly, but dad would never let us forget her.  His memory of her was always kept alive in the way he raised us.  He would always have something good to say about everything.  I don"t ever remember him talking bad about anyone.  And we could always feel that same love whenever we visited our aunts and uncles.  The love between his brothers and sisters was as visible as the love he gave all of us .  I feel most honored to have had the joy of having known our father.  May God have him in peace.

Conrado Lopez, my grandfather, died in about 1956 when I was about nine years old. I remember him as a large man who wore a hat and a large mustache. There are pictures of him and grandmother together, I recall one in particular in which my grandmother is standing and my grandfather is sitting and grandma' is the same height standing as grandpa' is sitting. I recall a story that morn would tell us about how the union of Conrado and Ofilia came about. Supposedly, grandmother Ofilia, an orphan, was raised by her grandparents who did not treat her very well. At some point, my grandfather who had the reputation of being a gambler who did not work for a living begin courting Ofilia, to her grandparents' dismay. The story goes that one day my grandmother Ofilia was sitting on her front porch crying because of sadness due to being treated badly. She was looking down and did not notice my grandfather approaching on horseback. She suddenly felt the weight of the horse's front hoofs landing on the porch near to her. There was grandfather Conrad sitting on top of the horse looking down on her. He asked Ofilia why she was crying, and I suppose she told him. He wanted her to get on the horse and leave with him, but she would not. Eventually, Grandfather Conrado asked for her hand in marriage, and they were married. According to the story, on their wedding day Conrado carried Ofilia away on horseback still dressed in her bridal gown. I, Alfredo Lopez Trevino, am very proud of my heritage, as a Lopez and as a Trevino. Through the years, my mother, Elida Lopez Trevino inculcated in us that blood is thicker than water, and, therefore, all my actions go toward continuing the proud tradition of our families, a tradition of hard work, education, respect for ourselves and others, and doing the best at what we do. This I try to Instill in my own children, Alfred Alexander Trevino, Paul Eugene Trevino and Janelle Ernestine Trevino.

Elida "Lile" Olivarri Lopez Trevino was my mother and the mother of my other 10 siblings. In her lifetime, "Lile" gave birth to 13 full term babies. Two of the 13, Antonio and Arturo, died as infants. Both were born before I was, so I never knew them other then from brief information morn related to us in casual conversations. My two deceased brothers died of causes that no longer take babies' lives due to advances in medicine. Eleven of us survived to adulthood. Two of us have passed on to better lives. Maria Anita "Annie" Trevino Ruiz, the eldest, died of kidney failure complications while she was in her late forties. Andres "Andrew", second oldest of the boys, died in a tragic accident while he was working on road construction somewhere on I.H. 35. He was twenty-five years old. From the eldest to the youngest, that leaves Alejandro "June" Trevino, Jr." Aurora "Dora" Trevino Arguello, Adolfo "Dofe" Trevino, Ofilia "Da" Trevino Corrales, myself, Alfredo "Freddie" Trevino, Guadalupe "Lupita" Trevino Martinez, Adan "Adam" Trevino, Maria Elia "Elia" Trevino, and, finally, Maria del Rosario "Rosie" Trevino Ruiz. My mother did not procreate all these people by herself, as one can imagine, her husband and partner in life was Alejandro Sanchez Trevino. What do I recall about my mother's life prior to marrying my father and having all of us? I recall that she was born and raised in the area called Oak Island, Texas that is located about two miles east of present day Highway 16 where it intersects with 1604. She attended Oak Island Elementary School through about the fifth grade. She lived with her parents through her late teens and early twenties. She took care of her mother, Ofilia Orozco Olivarri Lopez while she was on her deathbed. I recall mother telling us that my Grandmother's illness was painful and lingering and that morn would keep grandmother accompanied during the long nights. They would lie together in bed and talk and smoke cigarettes. Shortly after my grandmother died around 1936, my father and my mother married. My mother's father was ConradoFloresLopez. My mother's life after we came along can best be defined as "living for her children and through her children." As one out of eleven children, the middle child at that since there are five older and five younger than me, I never recall feeling ignored or unimportant. Mother made us feel as if we were wonderful individuals. She taught us respect for dad and for one another. On the surface, she appeared to be frail, but she was very strong. This became especially evident to me when my brother Andrew was killed. In spite of how terribly this must have affected her, she was the strong one that held the family together. My mother was intelligent. In spite of having only 4 or 5 years of formal education, she could read and write in English and in Spanish. I recall some of our neighbors and friends coming over to have mother read mail and write letters for them. She was an excellent manager of money, for in spite of my dad's limited earnings she always managed to feed and clothe all of us. She loved all eleven of us and raised us with great care. This I will never forget, for it made me what I am today.

A Tribute to my Daddy, Eusebio Lopez

God blessed our family with the Best Man in the world!!! This man was a very kind, caring, and loving gentle man, we knew him not only as our Daddy/Father, we also called him our Best Friend! I know that all eight of us, his children, will echo that forever.

Daddy and Mom taught us at an early age that God was always #1, followed by family, then hard work. The love that he had for my Mom and his children was so real that you would gladly do anything for him. The best thing was that Daddy didn't expect you to do anything that he would not do right along with you. The unconditional love, the good morals and values and respect that he instilled in all of us are being carried on. As the saying goes,you live by example, My God, we had the best example set for us!

Daddy and Mom believed in education and wanted the best for us. They taught us that hard work pays off and that we could become anything we wanted and to aim high. We are all successful because of them.

His love did not end with his immediate family but extended to his brothers and sisters, nieces and nephews and everyone else. He was a great listener and quick with advice when we asked for it and always had time for everyone in need of his services. He was also very funny and quick with his jokes,thanks for the wonderful memories!!!

The love for his country was so evident, he was proud to be an American! He served his Country with Honor and that earned him the Purple Heart! He never once complained of his injury, as a matter of fact, he never talked about it. Daddy never considered himself handicapped. What I remember the best is that every time we wanted to go somewhere or do something, he was such a good sport, he was always ready and willing. We would forget that sometimes it would be difficult for him but he never complained. What a wonderful Man!

This great man was my Daddy and I will cherish his memories in my heart forever. Gracias a Diosito por el mejor Padre!!! SIEMPRE SERA, EL MAS CHULO DE TODOS!!!

Con Todo mi Corazon y Mucho Carino,

Sally Lopez Quiroga