The Brownsville Herald - Online Edition OBITUARIES Obituaries, April 9, 2006 RAUL TABARES JR. Raul Tabares Jr., age 57, entered into eternal rest on April 4, 2006 , at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Mr. Tabares was born in Los Fresnos, Texas, on January 13, 1949, and was a lifelong resident of Brownsville, Texas. He is preceded in death by his father, Raul Tabares Sr., and brother Reynel Tabares. Mr. Tabares is survived and much loved by his family, wife Maria del Rosario Reyna; his mother, Raquel Rodriguez Tabares of Brownsville; his daughter, Margarita Rivera and husband Roberto R. Rivera II; his sons, Miguel Angel Roberts and Marco Antonio Roberts, all of Brownsville; his sister, Rosita Almazan and husband Leonardo of Corpus Christi, Texas; his brother, Rodolfo Tabares and wife Consuelo of Firebaugh, Calif.; his brother, Reynaldo Tabares and wife Teri; his brother, Ricardo Tabares; his sister-in-law, Yolanda Lopez Tabares, all of Brownsville. Raul worked all his adult life as a welder for Marathon-Lathernal until it closed and then as a Quality Control Welding Inspector, until the time of his illness, for Keppel-Amfels at the Port of Brownsville. Raul's (T-Bird) passion was the game of fast pitch softball. He played ball for over 35 years in local teams, both in Mexico and Texas, including Masters 50 and over. He participated in local and national tournaments held every year throughout Texas and took the opportu-nity to play in several Masters 50 and over national tournaments in several other states in the U.S. and Mexico. His wife would like to thank all of their friends, neighbors, family and co-workers who gave generously and took the time to lend a help-ing hand and continue to keep Raul in their prayers. She would like to give a special thanks to Ms. Paula Gomez, execu-tive director of the Brownsville Community Health Center, and Enri-que Garcia, finance director, for their words of encouragement and who supported her wholeheartedly through the three years of her husband's illness and extends her gratitude to her brother, Juan Edu-ardo Reyna, and friend Ms. Guadalupe Blanco, who unselfishly stepped in as caregivers to her husband. Thank you to Dr. Todd Shenkenberg and staff in Harlingen, Texas; the physicians, nurses, chaplains and support staff at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas, for their professionalism and excel-lent medical care. Arrangements are being made by Paradigm Funeral & Cremation Services. A Memorial Mass is pending for a later date. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Brownsville Com-munity Health Center Social Service Fund; 2137 E. 22nd St., Brownsville, TX 78521 in memory of Mr. Raul Tabares Jr. RUBY AUGUSTA BECHER Funeral services for Ruby Augusta Becher, 90, of La Grange and a longtime resident of Brownsville are set for 2 p.m. today, Sunday, April 9, 2006, at the Koenig & Strickland Chapel with Pastor Dennis Bragdon officiating. A Memorial service and Interment will follow at St. John's Lutheran Church Cemetery in Creston, Nebraska, at a later date. Ruby Augusta Becher was born August 29, 1915, in Platte County, Nebraska, the daughter of August and Meta (Kruse) Leffers. She married Harry Lavern Becher on November 20, 1937, in Freemont, Nebraska. She was a longtime resident of Brownsville, Texas, where she was a former member of Trinity Lutheran Church. She has lived in the La Grange area for the last nine years and was a member of Mt. Calvary Lutheran Church. She was a homemaker, loved music and was an avid Astros and baseball fan. Mrs. Becher passed away Thursday, April 6, 2006, at Jefferson Place Assisted Living Center at the age of 90 years, 7 months and 7 days. She is preceded in death by her parents; a son, Thomas Becher; (four) brothers and (three) sisters. Survivors include her husband of 68 years, Harry Becher of La Grange; daughter Nancy Kapels and husband Wilmer of Crestor, NE; son, Gary Becher and wife Iverna of Ellinger; (5) grandchildren, (4) great-grandchildren; (1) sister, Esther Bryan of Columbus, Neb.; numerous nieces and nephews and other relatives. Memorials may be made to any favorite charity. Funeral arrangements were by Koenig & Strickland, 208 W. Pearl, La Grange, TX 78945 (979) 968-3121. RUPERT WILDER TATUM Rupert Wilder Tatum, 94, passed away peacefully with family by his side on Thursday, April 6, 2006, at Sunshine Haven (Hospice) in Olmito, Texas. Rupert was born on March 4, 1912, in Utilia, Honduras, were he lived until eventually moving to the United States. During his years in Honduras, he had the good fortune of working in a variety of fields. His most memorable experiences included some of the following: January 7, 1935, to July 7, 1938, Rupert was employed by the Trux-illo Railroad Company as electrician for Trujilo Township. November 30, 1942, through September 26, 1945, he was employed by the U.S. Navy as extra operator and fireman of the Power and Ice Plant at Puerta Castilla, Honduras. October 11, 1945, to November 16, 1948, Rupert was employed as captain of a vessel for Coastwise Freigth Service. November of 1948, to January 2, 1949, he was chief mate on board the Motor Vessel "JACKSON" for the Swannee Fruit & Steam-ship Company in Jacksonville, Florida. He was also a carpenter and at one time a tailor. Rupert became a naturalized citizen on November 12, 1954, and he flew the American flag proudly at every opportunity. He joined his brothers in the shrimping industry and spent many years as captain of his own shrimp boat, the Cape Catoche. Rupert had a passion for photograph upon retiring from shrimping, he became a very avid photographer. He took many pictures of his beloved children, grandchildren, pets and nature. He was preceded in death by his wife, Thelma Irene Pritchard Ta-tum; his parents, Franklin "Grady" and Alice Tatum; his brothers, Henry Arlo and Louis Tatum; and his sisters, Mazie Rodriguez and Helen Clare Tatum. Left to cherish his memory are his children, Rupert (Pat) Tatum Jr. of Palmyra, Virginia, Helen (Kevin) Maynard of San Francisco, Cali-fornia, Elizabeth (Jim) Tresslar of San Rafael, California, Harry (Margaret) Tatum of Apoka, Florida, Linda Dorris of Houston, Texas, Debra (Rick) Smith of San Benito, Texas, Melany Fossing of Brownsville, Texas, Terrance (Linda) Tatum of Forth Worth, Texas, and Nancy (Robert) Galindo of Brownsville, Texas; his grandchildren, William Tudor, Maggie Cholakian, Maria Grealish, Caroline Tudor, Lana and James Dorris, Shawn Alvear, Candice Cuellar, Jessica Sta-motopoulas, Ashley, Robert Christopher and Samantha Galindo, Alex-ander Tatum, Travis Tatum and Megan Sandoval; his great-grandchildren, Lara, Connor, Graham and Kelly Grealish, Nathan Dorris, Sebastian, Olivia and Caleb Cuellar Tatum Tudor, Kyle and Ava Cholakian and Jacob Stamatopoulas; many nieces and nephews. He was loved and will be missed by those who knew him. Visitation will be held today, Sunday, April 9, 2006, from 1:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. with a Chapel Service at 10 a.m. on Monday April 10, 2006. In lieu of flowers, please make donations to Sunshine Haven, P.O. Box 4478, Brownsville, TX 78523-4478. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted Funeraria del Angel Buena Vista, cemeteries, mausoleums and crematory, 125 McDavitt Blvd. Brownsville, TX 78521, (956) 541-5400. JUAN P. GARCIA Juan P. Garcia, 83, passed away on Friday, April 7, 2006, at Valley Baptist Medical Center in Brownsville. Mr. Garcia was born in Mata-moros, Tamaulipas. He was the greatest husband, father, grandfather and brother. We will cherish his memories and deeply miss him. Mr. Garcia was preceded in death by his son, Felipe Garcia. He is survived by his loving wife, Antonia Garcia and his children, Aurora Garcia, Dora (+Raul Ramirez), Jovita (Ralph Ledbetter), Juan Garcia Jr. (+Eloisa), Maria De La Luz Garcia, Maria Del Socorro (Don Armstrong), Jose Luis Garcia (Yolanda), Hermelinda (Tommy Hul-sey), Maria Del Carmen (Mario A. Martinez), Diana A. (Emmanuel Vazquez), Sergio Garcia (Marisol); 24 grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. He is also survived by one sister, Porfiria Garcia de Santa Maria. Visitation was held Saturday, April 8, 2006, from 6 to 9 p.m. and con-tinues today, Sunday, April 9, 2006, from 4 to 10 p.m. with a recitation of the holy rosary at 7 p.m. A chapel service will be held on Monday, April 10, 2006, at 11 a.m. Committal service will follow at Rose Lawn Memorial Gardens. Serving as pallbearers will be Juan Garcia Jr., Jose Luis Garcia, Sergio Garcia, Johnny Garcia, Jimmy Edward Gonzalez, Phillip Gar-cia, Jose Luis Garcia Jr., Rene Andres Garcia and Luis Miguel Garcia. Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to the care of Fu-nerairia Del Angel Buena Vista, Cemeteries, Mausoleums, and Cre-matory, 125 McDavitt Blvd., Brownsville, Texas 78521, (956) 541-5400. The Brownsville Herald 1135 E. Van Buren Brownsville, TX 78520 956-542-4301 1-800-488-4301 © 2000 The Brownsville Herald