Emily was one of our longest-term volunteers, having been around from the beginning days of IWC. At that time, she could often be found at “the Casa,” our first overnight shelter and respite center—making beds, washing linens, cleaning the bathrooms, and getting the home ready for the next night’s guests. If not there, she would be at the bus station, distributing food and backpacks and assisting asylum seekers, who in those days were generally moms and children released from the Karnes facility.
Even as an almost-octogenarian, she continued to work at the bus station until we pulled our volunteers out during the pandemic, and she hoped to go back after she got her vaccinations.
Emily served on the accompaniments squad and the backpack assembly team. Backpack coordinator Linda Lowman noticed that although Emily had physical constraints, she just accepted and worked around them. She always thought of the children, wanting to be sure they would get something in the backpack that would be comforting for them. When her own grandchildren were in town, she brought them with her to help.
Emily attended our live monthly meetings at First Presbyterian Church and often remained afterward for a committee meeting or project discussion. When we switched to Zoom, she continued to attend both the general meeting and the Advocacy Committee sessions.
At her own St. Andrew Presbyterian Church, Emily served on the Mission Committee and spearheaded the group’s financial gifts to IWC each year. She directed clothing drives for Pastor Ortiz’s El Buen Samaritano Migrante in Nuevo Laredo. She made sure IWC had a speaker for the church’s “Minute for Mission” and arranged for us to display the Refugee Art Exhibit at St. Andrews. It seemed she was always looking for just one more thing she could do to advocate for asylum seekers or ease their burden.
She devoted time to helping animals by volunteering at Animal Care Services of San Antonio, later becoming cat manager at Homes for Pets in Shertz.
Sister Denise said, “She sure lived life to the fullest and in a meaningful way.”
