Clementina Gonzales

Clementina Garibay Gonzales passed away August 13, 2016, in Waco, Texas. Private graveside services will be held in Marlin, Texas, with Rev. Wayne Williams from First United Methodist Church in Waco officiating.
Clementina was born July 28, 1922 in Mexico. Her parents, Ladislado Garibay and Salome Torres brought their family to Texas when Clementina was four years old. They settled in Buckholts, Texas. She lived there until 1940 when she married Roman Gonzales. They were married until his death in 2014.
She and Roman settled in the Brazos Bottoms farming community. They had two children. After several years and a journey to the Lubbock area to do migrant work, they saw opportunity for themselves and their extended family, in that area of Texas. She and Roman, along with their families, moved and settled near Lubbock. They started living their dream, saving and managing their earnings to invest in farmland. They did so for 24 years; then, came back to Central Texas near Waco and Marlin and did the same the remainder of her life.
Clementina loved her family and to make things grow. She could nourish a little stick with only a breath of life into something beautiful. She was a true steward of God’s land.
Clementina was preceded in death by her parents, Ladislado and Salome Garibay; her husband Roman Gonzales; son, Reynaldo; sisters, Eva and Celia; and brothers, Alfredo, Raul and Ramiro.
Clementina is survived by her daughter Esmeralda Baker and her husband Doye Baker; grandson Mike Gerhardt; granddaughter Beverly Johnston and her husband Duke Johnston; sisters, Stella Esparza and her husband Cruz Esparza, and Elida Gonzales; along with several lovely great-grandchildren and great-great-grandchildren.
Her family wishes to thank the staff at Wesley Woods Nursing Home who so graciously cared for Clementina the last four years of her life; also, to Blue Bonnet Hospice for their gentle attention to her needs at the end of her life.