Our precious mother, grandmother, great grandmother, tía, and friend: Sofia Mercado Gonzales fell asleep peacefully with her family by her side on November 19, 2023, after 104 years of life she went to be with the Lord. She was born on July 28, 1919, to Amelia and Juan Mercado and was the youngest of seven children.

In her long life, she overcame many challenges and saw all the blessings that one can experience. She told stories of her survival skills during the great depression, picking cotton as a child, serving as a treasurer as a young teenager for the San Antonio pecan shellers union and even being featured in a film entitled: A Strike and an Uprising (in Texas) . She sent family to serve in the military and even war and was an activist for women's rights in her community. Sofia was mother to eleven children who she raised with her husband of 72 years. After raising her large family, she continued her education and became a nurses aid and helped care for the elderly and infirm. She loved to sing and laugh, care for her pets: Betty Boop and Shakira, tend her garden, shop, cook and receive company into her hospitable home in the Westside of San Antonio. She's left us with memories of laughter, music, fairness, generosity, kindness, faith, and gentle, yet powerful love. She was very proud of her large family; we are her legacy.

Sofia is preceded in death by her parents, all her siblings, her husband Rodolfo A. Gonzales, her sons: Rogelio M. and Rodolfo M. Gonzales, Jr; her daughter, Norma M. Gonzales and a son in law, Richard Weaver.

She is survived by her children: Juan M. Gonzales (Sonia), David M. Gonzales (Irma), Sophia Orme, Oralia Weaver, Mary Esther Gonzales, Virginia (Ruffino Ramirez), Daniel M. Gonzales (Esther) and Robert M. Gonzales. She is also survived by 20 grandchildren, 33 great grandchildren, 21 great-great grandchildren, and one great-great-great grandchild, daughter in law, Paula Gonzales, nephews, nieces and extended family living throughout the United States.

The family will receive guests at Castillo Funeral Home on Thursday, November 30, 2023, from 4:00 pm until 8:00 pm for visitation and at 6:00 pm for a rosary service.

A funeral mass will be conducted on Friday, December 1, 2023, at 10:00 am in Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church. The burial will follow with a graveside service at San Fernando Cemetery II.