Today I had the privilege of following through to call some of my San Antonio relatives that I had not spoken to since my father, Carlos passed away. While Ron and I were in San Antonio in November last year (2013) I found some phone numbers for R. Canchola. I wanted to reconnect with them to do some genealogy research and perhaps see if they had a few photos of my father as a young boy in a group school picture that I just have a computer generated printed copy.
However, the name and phone number I found was a Canchola cousin on (Carlos' side )and discovered that the cousin I was looking for had passed away. Isn't that a reminder to me to ACT when the thought comes to check on things like that and not wait! The relative I contacted was also cousin to Reynaldo Canchola, and was Eufemio Reynaldo and went by "Memo." His wife is Isabel. I think the other Reynaldo went by the same name but listed his wife's name in the directory. I actually found Isabel C. and had a wonderful hour long conversation catching up on family history. I think this couple are my second cousins.
Isabel told me a few stories about my grandmother when she was a young girl just married to her husband. She said she herself married very young and Nane, aka Cuquita taught her how to cook and spent time at her home at the cement plant or on Pinto Street. Her husband worked at Portland Cement too. She told me that her husband was my grandmother's favorite nephew and called him "Memito."
It was a real joy and pleasure to talk to her and felt such a warm return of her kindness and interest in me. They both spoke to me, and I do remember meeting them in 2003 at Daddy's funeral in San Antonio. We exchanged emails, photos and will keep in touch with each other.
I made note of the information on the Reynaldo who passed away and found one of his siblings Maria de los Angeles (obituary online) later who had never married and passed away since her brother, Reynaldo. They all lived out at the cement plant in their younger years as adults. I felt like I had touched history once again and was back in San Antonio as a child. I loved the opportunity to reconnect and catch up on these Canchola relatives.
This family history work is never done, is it? I find that piercing of the veil prodding me to keep searching and never stop finding more relatives. Sometimes my husband tells me to stop doing more of the extraction names I found on my own on church CDs. There are thousands of names and we cannot possibly do them all ourselves. But the problem is I don't now how I am connected with them even though their surnames are Ulloa, Canchola, Munoz, Garcia, etc. I see his point. These recent finds are different in that I KNOW who they are and how we are related and connected. So that is perfectly acceptable to submit their names of their temple blessings. The other names I am not sure what can be done about them, perhaps only that I must leave it to the Lord to have them extracted in an orderly way and be obedient to the Church's stand about that issue.
I am so thankful to have rediscovered my father's cousin, Reynaldo C. who very likely has accepted the gospel. The missionaries on the other side of the veil must have prepared him to open the doors of understanding and accepting the message since November 2007 when he passed away. I can do my part to follow up and talk to his widow who lives in San Antonio and got acquainted with them too when I was there in 2003.
Isabel C remembered me and knew about me that I was "Mormon." The Tias had told her about me, and asked about my brother, Bob and knew him when he lived in S.A. in his youth. She invited me to come back and visit with them next time we go to Texas.
I love this work and never tire of finding more opportunities to bring the saving ordinances to our kindred. Especially love finding the living and on the other side of the veil.
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