Obituary for Francisco Estrada

Ponca City Now - March 2, 2015 12:00 am

Francisco A. Estrada of Blackwell, Oklahoma, passed away Saturday February 28, 2015, at the Integris Hospice House in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, at the age of 77 years.

Francisco A. Estrada was born on July 11, 1937, in Managua, Nicaragua. He was the son of Francisco Estrada and Olympia Zamora Estrada. He grew up in Managua and attended school with the La Salle Christian Brothers in Colegio Pedagogico where he obtained his high school diploma. He then traveled to Spain to begin his university studies where he met Maria Auxiliadora. They married on July 15, 1960, at the Saint Mark Catholic Church in Madrid.

He obtained his Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration at the Catholic Central American University (UCA) in Managua. He began his career as a business administrator in Jaboneria El Hogar, a company owned by his family. He also worked at the Instituto Tecnologico in Granada, Nicaragua.

After the civil war in Nicaragua in 1979, he moved to Costa Rica where he settled with his family until 1991. In Costa Rica he continued with his religious education and was accepted in the Secular Franciscan Order in 1984 and served for 6 years.

In Miami, Florida, he served in Our Lady of Divine Providence Church. In December 1995 he was ordained as Deacon, and worked as Chaplain at the Catholic Hospice for eleven years. He arrived in Oklahoma in December 2007 where he served and was an active member of St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Blackwell and St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Ponca City.

He enjoyed spending time with his family, rose gardening, and classical music.

He is survived by his wife Maria A. Hernandez-Estrada of Blackwell; his children: Francisco Javier, Luis Felipe, Maria Esperanza, Jose Manuel, Fernando and Carlos; his grandchildren: Felipe, Karolina, Laura, Isabela, Michael, Gabriela, Fernando and Luis Antonio; his great grandchildren: Anthony and Keyan.

He was preceded in death by: his parents Francisco and Olympia, his brother Manuel and his sister Rita.

Prayer services are scheduled for 6:00 p.m., Monday, March 2nd in the Roberts and Son Funeral Home Chapel in Blackwell. Funeral mass will be held at 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, March 3rd in the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in Blackwell with Father Benjamin Lwin officiating. Burial will be in the Blackwell Cemetery.

A memorial has been established in his honor with the St. Joseph’s Catholic Church in c/o Roberts and Son Funeral Home, 120 W. Padon, Blackwell, Oklahoma 74631.