Reymunda E. Ornelas
November 16, 1930 ~ June 23, 2022
On Thursday, June 23, 2022, Reymunda Enriqueta Garcia Ornelas, devoted wife and mother of six children passed away for eternal rest at age 91.
Reymunda was born on November 16, 1930 in El Dorado, Kansas to Ygnacio “Shorty” Garcia and Angela Antasia Gonzalez Garcia. Growing up in a small town of Douglass, Kansas Reymunda helped her parents take care of the house and her three brothers: Cypriano “Soupy”, Rosalio “Gus” and Thomas “Tommy”. She met her devoted husband Frank Ornelas Sr. at a dance hall and they married on April 7, 1951 in Augusta, Kansas. Their wedding photo would later become an iconic picture and mural known to the Mexican Community in the Historic North End of Wichita. They raised six children, Patricia, Mary Louise, Alice, Victoria, Frank Jr, and Benita in their cherished family home on Park Place.
Reymunda had a passion for her family, her community and her sewing. She loved being at home celebrating the holidays and their notorious Saturday night family dinner known as “Hamburgers and Hot Dog Night”. This is where she and Frank would open up their doors to family, extended family and friends of family every single Saturday night to catch up on the previous week, celebrate a birthday or milestone while kids played running around the house and yard. “Grandma’s house” is where you had cake and ice cream for your birthday, brought over your boyfriend or girlfriend to meet the family, or sometimes where you would get your hand slapped by “the stick” for getting in the cookie jar. It’s where you were introduced to the heart of the home known simply as “the hallway”. It is a rite of passage for all first time visitors. You are taken to a hallway with a long wall in the middle of the house, and told the origin story of the Ornelas and Garcia families through pictures. You were met with old black and white family photos and a collection of pictures of her children and their growing families, like a visual family tree. It is also where you would find the birth announcements of all her grandchildren, along with years of their school and wedding photos and where she displayed newspaper articles of her family with pride, and shared stories of love and life.
In addition to her family Reymunda combined her love of her community with her passion for sewing. A local seamstress “Rey” was known to offer her support by sewing items for friends and family in the neighborhood, during her time at St. Francis she sewed for the priest and nuns. To this day you can’t mentioned her name without hearing a story of what she made and for who. From wedding, prom and quinceañera dresses, to doll and baby clothes, fixed holes, mended seams and hems down to her signature Yo-Yo dolls and blankets, she showed her love through sewing. You could find Reymunda at any given hour, day and night in her sewing room working away on one of a hundred projects for those she loved.
If she wasn’t in her sewing room you could find her organizing with the ladies at the GI Forum, the cafeteria at St. Francis Hospital, walking back and forth to church, watching sports (especially WSU), keeping an eye on the neighborhood from her windows or sitting at the kitchen table talking to those who admired her strength and devotion to seek her guidance or to simply share in the latest neighborhood news. You knew that she was always there to listen, provide a safe space and give her very honest feedback and opinions.
After years of caring for her family and community, it was her children that took care of her in her final days as she went to rest after an 8 year battle with Alzheimer’s and dementia. She passed as she would have wanted to, in her home, final visits from grandchildren, surrounded by pictures of her life’s work, her family, and with the love of her children for her eternal rest.
Preceded in death by: her parents: Ygnacio “Shorty” Garcia and Angela Antasia Gonzalez Garcia; Brothers: Cypriano (Irene) Garcia and Rosalio “Gus” Garcia; Son-in-law: Marcelino Chavez; Grandson: Bernadino Ornelas and Beloved Husband Frank Ornelas Sr.
Survived by: Brother: Thomas “Tommy” (Beverly) Garcia; Sister-in-Law: Emma (Santiago) Jaso; Children: Patricia (Steven) Mendoza, Mary Louise (Michael) Gallardo, Alice Chavez, Victoria Ornelas, Frank (Maria) Ornelas Jr, Benita Ornelas; 18 Grandchildren and many Great and Great-Great Grandchildren; and extended family.
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Pat and family, So very sorry to hear about the loss of your mom. I think that’s one of the hardest things to go through. Anyway, that’s how I felt when I lost mine. Please know that my heart goes out to you. You all will be in my thoughts and prayers.