93-year-old great-grandmother recognized as group's 'Mother of the Year'

McALLEN — Cecilia Gallegos was dedicated to raising her children.

But when her husband suffered a stroke, the mother of nine didn’t think twice about returning to work at age 50 to ensure her children would be able attend college.

“I wanted my children to do better than me,” she said.

The now 93-year-old was surprised Wednesday as the Rio Grande Valley Chapter of the Hispanic Women’s Network of Texas recognized her with its Mother of the Year Award during its eighth annual Mother’s Day Luncheon at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce.

The award is given to loyal members of the network who are a good influence on their children, said Alida Hernandez, president of the group’s Valley chapter.

At age 50, Gallegos went to work at Sam Houston Elementary School, where she managed the cafeteria. She could walk to the school from her house, which made it convenient for her.

While working at the school, she started a business with two of her children: Daniel’s Mexican Restaurant on 23rd Street.

Gallegos worked at the school until 2 p.m. and then went to the restaurant to work there until closing time, which initially was 10 p.m.

In 1987, she retired at age 70 from Sam Houston and committed herself to working full-time at the restaurant.

Gallegos ran the eatery until she was 90, working 6 a.m. to 2 p.m. seven days a week. She was still driving at the time.

When she had to have a knee replacement, her son Danny decided to lease the restaurant.

Nowadays, Gallegos enjoys the house she shares with one of her sons and reads the newspaper to keep up with what’s happening, “to have something to talk about if someone visits me,” she said.

Gallegos is the only surviving member of the Hidalgo High School class of 1936. After graduation, the San Benito native attended McAllen Business College and worked in local government.

She married Eustacio Gallegos on July 27, 1941, and became a stay-at-home mom to a brood that eventually numbered nine children, including a set of twins.

Hope Torres, one of her five daughters, recalled her mother making sure Torres and her siblings had a healthy diet, which often included whatever produce happened to be in season locally.

“There were always lots of fresh vegetables and fruits,” Torres said. “The main staples were a little scarce at times; hence, instead of “huevo con cebolla” (eggs with onion), we would have “cebolla con huevo” (onion with eggs). There were no soft drinks. … At night, we had to have a small teaspoon of olive oil. I tell you, the woman was ahead of her time.”

Now a great-grandmother, Cecilia Gallegos recommends that new mothers take joy in giving birth and urges them to push their children to achieve more than their parents.

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Martha L. Hernández covers Mission, western Hidalgo County and general assignments for The Monitor. You can reach her at (956) 683-4846.