Eva Mireles, 44, a 17-year-old teacher, taught fourth-graders at Rob Elementary School, according to her aunt Lydia Martinez Delgado, who confirmed that her niece was among those killed. Delgado said her nephew Ruben Ruiz was a police officer in the Uwalde school district and was married to Mireles. The couple has a daughter who recently graduated from college, Delgado said.
Delgado said Mireles was cheerful and active, and recalled a time when she got up before sunrise with other relatives for a walk during a family reunion. “She did her best to live a long life, and here it was interrupted,” Delgado said in a telephone interview early Wednesday.
Audrey Garcia said she would never forget the attention Mireles paid to her 23-year-old daughter Gabby when she was in third grade.
“My daughter has Down Syndrome and she was one of the first students at the time to be included in a regular classroom,” said Garcia, who now lives in San Antonio. “Miss. Mireles has always excelled. She has never seen Gabby have less potential than any of the other students.
On Tuesday, Garcia posted a photo on Twitter of her daughter and Mireles, which she said demonstrated the teacher’s devotion. Garcia said she last heard from Mireles about two years ago after local television made footage of her daughter’s high school graduation and new jewelry business. Mireles often reached around Christmas, Garcia said, because Gabby had given her an ornament.
“She’d say she always thought of Gabby when she put up her Christmas tree,” Garcia said. “After all these years, she was still interested in Gabby as a student. I just want everyone to know what kind of person she was and what kind of educator she was. I don’t want her to be forgotten. “
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