Virginia Pardo

Virginia Pardo Escabi, born more than a century ago, was known for her superb Puerto Rican cooking, sense of style, perpetually kind demeanor, and dedication to her husband, Jaime Pardo.

More than anything else, however, Virgina is remembered for her love of a family that grew to include seven children, 20 grandchildren, and 54 great-grandchildren.

Virginia was surrounded by many of those family members when she passed away on Thursday, April 24, at her home in Cibolo, Texas, at the age of 100.

Virginia was born in Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Julio Escabi and Marcolina Garcia. The official date of her birth was recorded as Jan. 20, 1925, but in the Puerto Rico of the 1920s it could take many weeks or months for news of a birth to reach local administrators. So, her true age may have been 101.

She spent much of her childhood in Ponce and at the age of 12 witnessed the Ponce Massacre, when the Puerto Rican Nationalist Party clashed with the Puerto Rico Insular Police. It resulted in the deaths of 17 civilians and two police officers, and the wounding of over 200 civilians. Later in life, Virginia wrote a column for an island newspaper about her vivid memories of that tragic day.

But Virginia wasn’t destined to stay in Ponce. She moved to New York, where she worked at the Knickerbocker Toy Company. Four of her beloved children came from her first marriage.

Eventually, she met her second husband, Jaime Pardo, in the Bronx and they began an adventurous life together in a marriage that lasted more than 70 years. In their early years, they enjoyed the fast pace of New York. When Jaime was drafted into the U.S. Army, he was stationed in Alaska, and Virginia waited two years for him to return.

Later, as a sergeant in the Air Force, Jaime was deployed to many different regions and states. The military life required the family to move often. At various times, they lived in New Jersey, South Carolina, Texas, Japan, Hawaii, and Puerto Rico.

Virginia didn’t allow the constant moves to dissuade her from her passion for gardening, cooking and raising children. After Jaime finished 20 years of duty in the Air Force in the early 1970s, he and Virginia moved back to Puerto Rico, where they settled once again in Virginia’s hometown of Ponce. Within a few years, she was able to dote on grandchildren, slipping them money or treats when their parents or Jaime weren’t looking.

The couple then moved to Isabela, Puerto Rico, to be closer to children and grandchildren. They remained in Isabela until Hurricane Maria devastated the island in 2017. With communication down across the island, it was weeks before Jaime and Virginia were able to get word out to their family that they were safe.

Following the hurricane, they moved to Converse, Texas, and then to Cibolo, Texas, where Virginia spent her final years close to children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

Virginia was preceded in death by her parents, her three siblings, and two of her children, Jose Alberto Sanchez and Noemi Sanchez. She is survived by her husband, Jaime Pardo, and by five children: son Hector Manuel Sanchez (and his wife Donna); daughter Carmen Sanchez; daughter Aida E. Pardo (and her husband Ernie Rivera); daughter Janet Pardo (and her husband Mark Garber); and son Jaime L. Pardo. She also is survived by 19 of her grandchildren, and 54 great-grandchildren.

A Funeral Service is scheduled for May 7, 2025, at the Schertz Funeral Home & Crematory with visitation beginning at 11:00 AM and service beginning at 12:00 PM. Interment will follow at the Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery at 2:00 PM.