Maria Luisa Valdez

The Canticle of Mary. And Mary said: "My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord; my spirit rejoices in God my savior. For he has looked upon his handmaid's lowliness; behold, from now on will all ages call me blessed. The Mighty One has done great things for me, and holy is his name. -Luke 1:46

By the grace of God, his servant, Maria Luisa Valdez Soto, 88, has been called for eternal rest on Saturday, July 18th, 2026, surrounded by loved ones in her home.

Maria Luisa is proceeded in death by her parents Francisco and Maria Isabel Soto, her siblings, Francisca, Tere, and Jesus (Jesse), her beloved husband Eduardo "Lalo" Alejandro Valdez, three children and a grandchild.

Maria Luisa was raised in the Roman Catholic faith, surrendering her life to God first, was devout to Our Lady of Guadalupe and devoted to her family. Her joy came from filling her home and raising her family with a God given love, always giving HIM the glory at every moment. Alongside her beloved husband she raised eight children and countless pets. She enjoyed collecting trinkets and anything related to Coca-Cola, her preferred drink, and everyone who knew her donated to the cause. She expressed her love for America loudly with numerous eagles and American flags. She filled her home with lively music of every genre as often as possible. It was only in times of great grief that her home was in silence. She was blessed with the gift of a green thumb; using it to contribute to her household alongside her sister Tere, she worked in a local nursery and left a home surrounded by an abundance of plants along with trail of flowers to remember her by. She earned a CDL to help her husband drive trucks; and made many piñatas to help provide for her family any way she could. She had an overflowing heart that reached countless in her walk of life: from praising God through song, sending endless holiday cards across the country to relatives, donating to various charities, visiting the sick, giving homes to pets, using her sewing skills to create gifts for all, and bringing many together with her homemade mole, frijoles, and salsa.

Our beloved Maria was a woman of great, quiet strength; Her devout faith carried her through cancer, loss of loved ones, and many other sufferings in her path. She had no room for fear, as one of her many mottos was "me hace los mandados". Her whole-hearted faith was that God gives us only what we can handle and we must trust the rest to HIM, so there was no room for fear. "Our job is to get up; thank God for all we are given and keep going one day at a time."

Mamita... rest and trust that we will carry on your good works from now on. We thank God for the time he gave us with you; we thank you for all you poured into our family; we love you and will miss you always.

Maria Luisa is survived by her siblings, Tomas Soto (Ogie), Ramona Curiel (Nick Sr), and Emma Soto (Eddie S.), as well as her children, Maite Garcia (Joel), Flori Perez (Blas), Leti Rodriguez (Roy), Connie Sanchez (Roland), Eddie Valdez Jr. (Aurora), Mari Valdez (Joe), Gabriel Valdez, and Nere Tyburczyk. She is also survived by more than twenty grandchildren, more than thirty great grandchildren and two great-great grandchildren.

Visitation will be held Wednesday, July 22, 2026 from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM and Thursday, July 23, 2026 from 2:00 PM to 9:00 PM at Salinas Funeral Home - Chapel of The Heavens with a 7:00 PM Rosary both nights. A 10:00 AM Funeral Mass will be held on Friday, July 24, 2026 at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Progreso, TX. Interment will follow at Highland Memorial Park in Weslaco, TX.

Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Salinas Funeral Home of Weslaco.