On Thursday, February 18, 2021 Maruca Morales Jones, loving mother and grandmother, passed away at 66 years of age in Austin, Texas with her daughter, Cristina Phelps by her side after a courageous fight against pancreatic cancer.
Maruca was born January 25, 1955, in Brownsville, Texas to Guadalupe Morales and Nievitas de la Garza de Morales. After graduating Villa Maria High School she earned her degree from Texas Southmost College in Education. Maruca then embarked on her remarkable career highlighted by her time working for Bishop Fitzpatrick in the Diocese of Brownsville, working for Atari during its peak, working at the Mexico City Embassy as a translator for the DEA, and working for various companies in her illustrious and long spanning career (25 years+) in educational software sales earning such awards as “Rookie of the Year”, “National Sales Leader” and “Top Producer” allowing her to travel around the world as reward for those achievements.
Maruca was known to be a tenacious and hardworking woman that had a wonderful sense of humor. She had a big heart and had the most generous spirit. She was known to go out of her way to ensure that people around her, whether family or not, were taken care of – going to great lengths to always lend a helping hand. She enjoyed traveling and had a great appreciation for food, her friends, and her family. She reveled in being a grandmother to Carter Michael Phelps, Chloe Ellen Phelps and Oliver Morales and was a very hands-on presence in their lives. She had recently moved to Austin, TX (January 2020) to be closer to her daughter and her family. She very much enjoyed the bustling downtown scene and frequent visits from her daughter and grandchildren.
Her most important and enduring legacy is that of mom, nana, loving family member, and friend to all. The relationships she fostered and nurtured through the years are immeasurable and irreplaceable as she left her mark everywhere she went. She was a combination of energetic, sweet, articulate, and smart. She never left a restaurant without learning every waiter’s name and where they were from. She loved interacting with people of every walk of life and made friends everywhere she went. She will be eternally missed but will live on in the memories and stories that her children and loved ones will pass on and hold dear to their hearts.
Maruca Jones is preceded in death by her father Guadalupe Morales (1973), mother Nievitas de la Garza de Morales (2011), brothers Fernando Morales Benavides (1997) / Raul Morales de Benavides (2017), her son Benjamin Campos (2020) and her husband Louis Harold Jones, Jr. (2018). She is survived by her two remaining children, Juan Raul Morales and Cristina Phelps along with her three grandchildren, Carter Michael Phelps, Chloe Ellen Phelps, and Oliver Morales as well as many loving nieces, nephews, cousins, brothers, sisters, and friends.
A service will be held at Immaculate Conception Cathedral on Saturday, February 27th, 2021 in Brownsville, TX at 10:30am. Due to Covid restrictions Church can only accommodate 75 people.