RACHEL HOWELL VILLARREAL
April 3, 1937-July 23, 2017
Rachel Howell Villarreal, 80, a longtime resident of Corpus Christi, passed away Sunday, July 23, 2017, while visiting her son in Houston, Texas.
Rachel was born April 3, 1937, in Goldsboro, N.C., to Curtis and Eunice Howell.
She grew up in Detroit, Mich., and graduated from high school in Vermilion, Ohio. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree from East Carolina University.
After graduating, she worked in Goldsboro, N.C., as a social worker and high school English teacher.
Aug. 29, 1963, she married Homer D. Villarreal, a captain in the United States Air Force. They moved to Bitburg, Germany, where they lived for two years, and spent time traveling and exploring Europe.
After returning to the states, they lived briefly in North and South Carolina until they settled in Texas, where Rachel taught homebound students until her retirement in 2004.
Rachel lived her life to the fullest with a love of traveling and spending time with her family.
She was a longtime member of Beta Sigma Phi Sorority, and belonged to a Corpus Christi chapter of the Red Hat Society.
She enjoyed socializing and traveling with many good friends. Above all, her greatest pleasure was the time she spent with her children and grandchildren.
Throughout her long life, she was a loving daughter, wife, mother, grandmother and friend.
She was preceded in death by her parents, Curtis Baxter and Eunice Phillips Howell, and her husband, Homer Delfino Villarreal.
She is survived by her daughter, Roby (Joel) Gonzales; her son, Curtis H. (Nikki) Villarreal; granddaughters, Dylan Nicole Villarreal and Victoria Rachelle Gonzales; grandson, Carson Phillips Villarreal; and numerous nieces and nephews.
Funeral services will be in Goldsboro, N.C., at Seymour Funeral Home Saturday, July 29, 2017, with visitation from 10 to 11 a.m., and services to follow at 11 a.m. in the chapel. Burial will be at Summerlin Family Cemetery.
She is already missed by her family and friends.
Online condolences may be sent to the family at www.seymourfuneralhome.com.
(Pd)
Published in Obituaries on July 26, 2017 8:05 AM