Obituary of Andrea Ibarra Cuevas

Andrea Ibarra was called to her Heavenly Father at the age of 61 on September 20, 2019 at Harlingen Medical Center in Harlingen, Texas.

Andrea Ibarra was born on August 15, 1958 in Mercedes, Texas.  Her parents were Jose Trinidad Ibarra and Maria Torres Gonzalez.  She was the youngest of

5 brothers and 4 sisters.

When she was 2 years old, in Mercedes, she fell off a loading dock of a storage facility for blocks of ice.  She developed a type of nerve injury in her left cheek which slowly caused facial deformation. She underwent many surgeries to correct this.

At the age of 6 she and her family moved to San Benito.  She graduated from San Benito high school. Her favorite color is purple. Maybe for the purple and gold for the San Benito greyhounds.

After high school she went to medical school in Chicago where she became a nurse’s aide.

Andrea worked at the El Centavo bar in Los Fresnos as a bouncer and here is where she met Tony.  Andrea and Tony were married on June 4, 1994 in San Benito, Texas.  This year they celebrated their 25^th wedding anniversary.

She met the missionaries of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who were looking for Mexico Street in San Benito of which there is no such address.

The missionaries didn’t know that Andrea ordered a small pizza for her and Tony but she fed them pizza.  The missionaries called her Tia Nana and since then she’s been feeding the missionaries every week including the day of her death.

After the missionaries baptized her at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints on May 30, 1999, she quit smoking, drinking, and swearing.  After she was baptized, she went back to work as a nurse’s aide.

On September 5, 2009, Andrea and Tony were sealed for life and eternity at the San Antonio Texas Temple.

They moved to Kentucky in 2011 and then to Baytown, Texas in 2012.  In 2015 they moved back to San Benito, Texas.

She was preceded in death by her parents, Jose Ibarra and Maria Torres.  A brother, Ramon Torres, passed away at the age of 42.  Another brother, Jose Guadalupe, passed at the age of 47.  A brother, Miguel Torres, passed away a year ago at the age of 66.

She is survived by a sister Maria Olalde from Harlingen, Texas; a sister Maria Jaye-Avalos from Missouri; a brother Juan F. Hernandez from Beeville, Texas; a sister Tomasa Quiroz from Washington; and another sister Zenon Zamora from San Benito; many nieces and nephews and her loving husband Antonio Cuevas Loreta.

Visitation will begin Wednesday, September 25, 2019, from 10:00 a.m to p.m. to 12:00 p.m. at Thomae Garza Funeral Home. In accordance to her wishes, cremation will follow.

You may sign the online guestbook and send words of comfort, flowers, or sympathy cards to the family of Andrea Ibarra Cuevas at: www.thomaegarza.com.

Funeral arrangements are entrusted to the care of Thomae-Garza Funeral Home and Crematory, 395 S. Sam Houston, San Benito, Texas, (956) 399-1331.