Family and friends gather to mourn Lourdes Elizondo

PALMVIEW — On a cloudy Saturday afternoon, the day before families would gather to celebrate the resurrection of their Lord, a crowd of relatives and friends came together to mourn the loss of Lourdes Elizondo.

Elizondo was one of two women found dead Wednesday morning. She and her coworker, Oneida Balderas Garza, were found shot in a bedroom of Garza’s home. District Attorney Omar Escobar said there was evidence the women had been tied up.

Elizondo was an accountant in the business department of the Rio Grande City CISD and Garza was a compliance officer.

Few details are known about their deaths as the Texas Rangers and the Texas Department of Public Safety continue to investigate the shootings. For Patricia Montes, one of Elizondo’s sisters, the important thing is that her younger sibling is in a better place.

“It’s my baby sister, and I love her very much,” Montes said. “We know she’s already with God and that’s what matters.”

The burial was held at the Lord & I Cemetery in Palmview, where Elizondo’s family had already purchased plots for their family.

Some in attendance wore purple T-shirts that read, “In Loving Memory of Lourdes M. Elizondo.” The shirts were purple because that was her favorite color.

Mourners lined up to pay their respects to the Elizondo family. The grief of the slain woman’s mother, Sanjuana Elizondo, was most pronounced as cries for her daughter could be heard alongside the hymns played by a guitarist.

When the time came for the final farewell, the family gathered at one end of her grave. Together, they released white balloons as her casket was lowered into the ground.

Montes said it was very tough for her because she saw her sister right before she died.

“I saw her Wednesday morning and I got after her because, to me, she was late to work,” she said. “It was tough on me seeing her leaving home and then not seeing her again.”

Montes said her daughter had spent Tuesday night at her mother’s house with Elizondo. She stopped by the house on Wednesday morning and saw her leave for work. She said authorities were not keeping her up to date on the investigation but said she has been preoccupied with a house full of relatives.

Many of family members came in from out of town to pay their respects to Elizondo.

“My mom’s side is a big family, and we have a lot friends, people who que querian mucho a mi hermana ,” said Montes, switching to Spanish to say there were a lot of people who loved her sister.