We are sad to announce the passing of our longtime employee Graciela Villalpando. Gracie began working with TRLA as a Legal Secretary in 1972 and retired in 2021 with almost 49 years of service. Her friendly face was the first clients and staff saw in both the Weslaco and Mercedes offices for nearly five decades. She is remembered for always being kind, full of energy, and available to talk or listen to anyone who needed assistance. 

Gracie was the anchor and first stop for justice for many of our Rio Grande Valley clients, tending to the needs of all who visited our offices to apply for services. Many TRLA staff remember meeting Gracie first upon arriving to work at TRLA. She provided reassurance, comfort, and kindness to all those she encountered. Gracie was committed to her community and devoted to TRLA’s clients and their rights. We will miss her. 

More information on memorial services: https://www.hawkinsfh.com/obituary/Graciela-Villalpando 

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From Jennifer Harbury:

“Gracie was the first person I met at TRLA. It was 1976, and I was a newly arrived summer intern for the Weslaco office, which back then was located above a local cantina. You had to climb some steps to reach the reception area, and of course there was no elevator.  I remember that the heat, to me, was stupefying. 

At the top of the stairs, I found a number of farmworkers huddled in the big old chairs and sofa, looking anxious and hopeful at the same time. There was a pregnant Mom with boisterous kids, several battered looking farmworkers holding their wide- brimmed hats, and an elderly couple squinting at the one page intake form. But my eyes landed first on a tiny young woman moving quickly among them, bringing water, plumping a cushion, and giving a welcoming smile to one and all. She was down on her knees with the old folks, chatting and helping them with the form, then finding toys for the kids, and laughing at the jokes the workers were telling her.  In no time she had drawn me in, whisked away my suitcase, and made me feel like one more member of the family. She was adorably pretty, yet a bit shy, dressed modestly in a simple shirt and flowered skirt. But all you could really see was the kindly smile. 

In later years I would teasingly call her Miss Gracie, because she never swore, never complained, never said a bad word about anyone. She had time to listen to one and all, and when we were unhappy, we always ran to Gracie for comfort and kindness. Yet she knew her roots and was devoted to the clients and their rights. She was there, always, for the union, for demonstrations, for gathering signatures, for bringing food. Gracie was always there. 

I have never forgotten that first glimpse of Gracie, and I will never forget Gracie. She was the best of TRLA spirit, and the heart of the old Valley. Like everyone else who knew her, I loved her dearly.”