Obituary for Elena Delgado
Elena Briseno Delgado, 78, a longtime resident of Coppell, Texas, passed away July 27, 2020 at her home in Childress, Texas after a long illness.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 1, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Childress with Lou Ellerbrook officiating. Burial will follow in Childress Cemetery under the direction of Johnson Funeral home. Visitation will precede the service at 9:30 a.m. at the church.
Born in Kingsville, Texas on March 23, 1942, child of the marriage between Julian Breseno and Beatriz Martinez. She met her husband Rodolfo Delgado of Robstown, Texas, at a high school football game and they fell in love. Her marriage was truly a love story. Just prior to her death, she told her husband, "Remember this: Since they day I met you, I have never not loved you."
Raised in south Texas, Elena and her sister learned the value of a strong work ethic early in life, taking in ironing at home and babysitting to earn money to buy food and clothing. Determined to make a better life for herself and her family, that strong work ethic served her well throughout her life as she set goals and achieved them. She knew she wanted to be married, have a son and a daughter, own a new car, have a nice air-conditioned home, travel and be judged on her own merits and to be successful.
She graduated from Henrietta M. King High School in 1960. She put herself through nursing school, and at age 36, she graduated from Texas Women's University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. After working in the acute psychiatry unit at MHMR in Dallas for one year, she worked for 26 years at the Dallas Veterans Administration Medical Center, retiring in 2007. While there, she achieved the designation of Certified Addictions Registered Nurse. One of her proudest moments was giving her son his LVN pin when he, too, graduated from nursing school in 2006.
Elena and her husband enjoyed road trips, spending time every year in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She gave generously to charities including Operation Kindness, PBS and St. Jude's Children's Hospital. She cared very much about the environment. She was also passionate about animal rescue and adopted a former racing greyhound named Reba and two cats.
She lived a life of courage, relying on her inner strength, her family, her spiritual upbringing and her sense of humor to overcome the obstacles and trials of her early life. A lifelong lover of books, she read voraciously across multiple genres. She wrote down a quotation from Dr. Brad Berk, "Courage is not the roar you make when you're going to battle, but it is the quiet voice that helps you get up every day and try again." After a surgery, the surgeon told her, "You are the most courageous woman I have ever met." That was Elena.
Elena was a success story. She accomplished all the goals she set since she was a young girl.
Elena is survived by her husband, son and daughter, their spouses, and her three grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her father, mother, and sister Minerva Vasquez. Her mother, Beatriz Briseno, better known as Bea, was also a longtime resident of Coppell.
Funeral services will be held Saturday, August 1, 2020 at 10:30 a.m. at the First United Methodist Church of Childress with Lou Ellerbrook officiating. Burial will follow in Childress Cemetery under the direction of Johnson Funeral home. Visitation will precede the service at 9:30 a.m. at the church.
Born in Kingsville, Texas on March 23, 1942, child of the marriage between Julian Breseno and Beatriz Martinez. She met her husband Rodolfo Delgado of Robstown, Texas, at a high school football game and they fell in love. Her marriage was truly a love story. Just prior to her death, she told her husband, "Remember this: Since they day I met you, I have never not loved you."
Raised in south Texas, Elena and her sister learned the value of a strong work ethic early in life, taking in ironing at home and babysitting to earn money to buy food and clothing. Determined to make a better life for herself and her family, that strong work ethic served her well throughout her life as she set goals and achieved them. She knew she wanted to be married, have a son and a daughter, own a new car, have a nice air-conditioned home, travel and be judged on her own merits and to be successful.
She graduated from Henrietta M. King High School in 1960. She put herself through nursing school, and at age 36, she graduated from Texas Women's University with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing. After working in the acute psychiatry unit at MHMR in Dallas for one year, she worked for 26 years at the Dallas Veterans Administration Medical Center, retiring in 2007. While there, she achieved the designation of Certified Addictions Registered Nurse. One of her proudest moments was giving her son his LVN pin when he, too, graduated from nursing school in 2006.
Elena and her husband enjoyed road trips, spending time every year in Santa Fe, New Mexico. She gave generously to charities including Operation Kindness, PBS and St. Jude's Children's Hospital. She cared very much about the environment. She was also passionate about animal rescue and adopted a former racing greyhound named Reba and two cats.
She lived a life of courage, relying on her inner strength, her family, her spiritual upbringing and her sense of humor to overcome the obstacles and trials of her early life. A lifelong lover of books, she read voraciously across multiple genres. She wrote down a quotation from Dr. Brad Berk, "Courage is not the roar you make when you're going to battle, but it is the quiet voice that helps you get up every day and try again." After a surgery, the surgeon told her, "You are the most courageous woman I have ever met." That was Elena.
Elena was a success story. She accomplished all the goals she set since she was a young girl.
Elena is survived by her husband, son and daughter, their spouses, and her three grandchildren. She was preceded in death by her father, mother, and sister Minerva Vasquez. Her mother, Beatriz Briseno, better known as Bea, was also a longtime resident of Coppell.