Maria Casillas

Maria J. Casillas, age 49, passed away on Friday, January 1st, 2016. "Mary," as she was known to her friends, was born to the late Francisco Cazares and Herlinda Cazares (nee Cardenas) on May 20th, 1966 in El Paso, Texas. She married Ben Casillas on February 23rd, 1991, in El Paso and had two sons, Eric S. Casillas and Bryan A. Casillas. In 1998 they moved to San Antonio and then settled in Converse, Texas. A phlebotomist for over 25 years, Maria was very serious about her career, but her real devotion was to her family and friends, particularly her brothers, sisters and nephews and niece, who, too young to say "Auntie Maria," began to call her "Tamara," a nick-name Maria gladly adopted. She loved to entertain and cook, frequently hosting garden parties, and enjoyed vacations to Las Vegas. In addition to her mother and sons, Maria is survived by her brothers in El Paso; Francisco Cazares Jr., Vicente Cazares, Alfredo Cazares; her sisters Mercedes ("Mercy") Barraza, and Claudia Fadel, both of Las Vegas, Nevada. The family would also like to acknowledge Maria's best friend of 17 years, Madonna Sheaffer,who was like a sister to Maria. A visitation will be held at Chapel Hill Funeral Home, 7735 Gibbs Sprawl Rd., Converse, Tx 78239, at 5:00 PM until 7:00 PM on Tuesday, January 5th, 2016. A funeral, also at Chapel Hill will be held on Wednesday, January 6th, 2016 at 1:00 PM. Interment will follow at Chapel Hill Memorial Park.