NEWS EDITOR – ASHTON JEFFERS
ORIGINALLY PRINTED ON SEPT 13, 2023
On Thursday, May 25, 2023, Theresa Yvonne Canales passed away at the age of 51. Canales, who served as the Community Outreach Coordinator for St. Mary’s University,is survived by her father, Margarito Canales;stepmother, Mary Canales; sisters Laura Morales, Graciela Canales; brothers Herman Canales, Christopher Canales, and Adam Canales; and nieces and nephews Christina Trentzsch, Bobby Canales, Magdalena Canales, Emily Canales, Marcos Canales, Andrés Canales, Clarissa Canales, and Adrián Canales.
Born October 17, 1971, in Ft. Cavazos, Texas, Canales grew up in a military family and environment that required her and her family to travel often, which led her to develop an early appreciation for different cultures and the willingness to learn about new people and places.
After graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in English and a Texas Certification for Secondary English & Writing Education from Incarnate Word College (currently the University of the Incarnate Word) in 1994, Canales began a lifelong journey of activism and community engagement.
During her life Canales become a nun, but later decided to pursue a different path, still with faith as a guiding force. She started her educational experience with the reading and language arts programming for the Edgewood Independent School District, and All Level ESL & 6th Grade Classroom English Teacher at Brooks Academy of Science & Engineering (K-12). Canales was soon interested in engaging with education through policy by working for State Representative Irma Rangel, who chaired the Texas Committee on Higher Education in 1997. She met and worked with many Bexar County local officials, including individuals such as Mayor Ron Nirenberg, Congressman Charlie Gonzalez, Mayor Ed Garza, State Rep. Mike Villarreal, County Commissioner Tommy Calvert Jr., City Councilwomen Rebecca and Phyllis Viagran.
During her time at St. Mary’s, Canales worked closely with Registered Student Organizations (RSOs), students, faculty, and staff interested in community involvement and engagement. She arranged for students and faculty to be bussed to the famous MLK March in San Antonio in January 2023, a successful event that started the year off as students returned from winter break. She dedicated herself with matters of higher education, inviting the campus community to discuss political memos and news events. Even though she was busy, Canales always stopped by to check on others, especially student leaders and workers who took time from their classes to contribute to campus organizations and departments. She worked closely with the Rattler and was excited to meet with the editors to see how she could support the voices of students for the upcoming semesters. She will be dearly missed for her contributions on campus and for all the individuals whose lives she greatly impacted.