Rose Marie Armenta

Rose Marie Armenta, 89, of San Antonio, TX passed from this life to eternal life on June 19, 2025.

She is preceded in death by her husband of 70 years, Carlos A. Armenta. Rose Marie is the last of her seven siblings to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven. She is survived by her daughters Belinda Bayerque (Frank) and Barbara Leedy (Hal), her grandchildren, Ryan Leedy (Jordan), Laura Stepp (Chris) and Monica Bayerque. Rose Marie also leaves behind 5 great-grandchildren, Zoey Stepp, Eric Stepp, Natalie Leedy, Emily Leedy and Benjamin Leedy and numerous nieces and nephews.

She grew up in a home with 7 siblings and raised without her father who was a WWI veteran who died shortly after the War. She was only 4 years old, so Rose Marie knew the importance of family. The Herrera family was raised by their mother who emphasized the values associated with faith and family. Rose Marie and Carlos met when she was 13 years old and he was 15. When Rose Marie was of age, they married and began their family early in their marriage. Over the years, she and Carlos raised their two daughters with the same values that she was given by her mother and older siblings. Rose Marie had an artistic side that she developed by working on sewing, canvas painting, and plaster painting. But her real love was for ALL types of word games and puzzles. She would “run the table” and was considered a champion of word games by winning the most games in an evening. Over the years, Church ministries became Rose Marie’s focus for both her spiritual growth and social contacts which resulted in numerous friends and acquaintances. She was a member over the years of the Legion of Mary, the Altar Society, an Extraordinary Minister of the Holy Eucharist, and sponsored a number of individuals who joined the Catholic Church after completing the Rite of Christian Initiation (RCIA). In the early 80’s she and Carlos responded to a request for sponsors of young men entering the seminary in India. This was the beginning of an amazing relationship with Josekutty Varghese. Father Joe, as he is known, began his theological studies at St. Charles Major Seminary at Nagpur, Maharastra, India. It was at this point that Rose Marie and Carlos “adopted” Fr. Joe and sponsored him throughout his studies to become a priest. Throughout his education he kept in touch with “mom and dad” as he calls them, through letters. On May 12, 1992, Fr. Joe was ordained a priest in his home parish of St. Rita’s Church, Thakazhy, Kerala, India. In July of 2005 he came to the United States; and his first visit to see mom and dad was in September of 2006. Fr. Joe has been at his current parish, St. John’s Church in Thibodaux, LA for the last nine years. He also celebrated the Mass of Christian Burial for Carlos when he passed last year. Rose Marie always considered it a blessing and a privilege to have a priest in her family.

Whenever family and friends visited Rose Marie, she always blessed them by saying, “Go With The Angels.” Over the last several months many caregivers and hospice workers visited Rose Marie and she became one of their favorite patients because when they ended their visit, she would ALWAYS tell them, “Go with the Angels.” Well, Rose Marie, now it’s time for us to say to you, “Go With the Angels.”