FORT WORTH — Lydia Noemi Rodriguez Frias passed away peacefully Friday January 25, 2019. Mrs. Frias was 93. Memorial Service: 1:00 p.m. Monday, February 11, at Gethsemane Presbyterian Church, 960 W. Bluff Street, with a reception to follow.
A committal service will be held at 11:00 a.m. Monday at the Dallas-Fort Worth National Cemetery. Family and friends will gather from 4:00 to 6:00 p.m. Sunday in the Great Room at Robertson Mueller Harper. Memorials: In lieu of flowers, consideration of contributions to Gethsemane Presbyterian Church or the Alzheimer’s Association, www.
alz.org. , in her memory, is suggested. Born September 7, 1927 in San Benito, Lydia was the eldest of four children born to Julio and Nieves Pedraza Rodriguez.
After graduating from high school, she attended Austin College in Sherman, majoring in Bible and the Presbyterian School of Christian Education in Richmond, Virginia. Lydia started her career with the Central Presbytery Office and worked with children in Hispanic Presbyterian churches throughout Dallas. In 1947, she met her future husband, Juan Samuel Frias at Gethsemane Presbyterian Church in Fort Worth.
After a 10-year courtship, she and Sam married and made Fort Worth their home where Lydia volunteered at John Peter Smith Hospital. She then worked for the Daycare Association of Fort Worth for 41 years. She was a woman of strong faith, and a lifelong, active Presbyterian.
She served her local church, Grace Presbytery, the Synod of the Sun and the General Assembly. She was one of the first Hispanic female Elders, working on numerous committees, traveling the world, and representing the Presbyterian Church at all levels. She was active on the Hispanic American Ministries Council, focused on social justice issues and championed the rights of children.
Lydia had a huge impact at Gethsemane Presbyterian Church, Fort Worth, where she directed Christian Education, taught bilingual Sunday School and Women’s Bible studies, coordinated Vacation Bible School and led trips to Mo-Ranch for the Hispanic Women’s Conferences. She taught English as a second language and U.S. citizenship classes to many people at the church’s International Academy. She was a member of the Board of Directors of Northside Community Health Clinic and a translator during elections for Tarrant County.
The family would like to thank the staff of Dr. Sam Lee, Universal Home Health physicians, nurses and therapists and Universal Hospice for their kind care. Lydia was preceded in death by her parents; brothers, Efraim and Joel Rodriguez; sister, Elizabeth “Betty” Moreno; and dear friend, Barbara Lee. Survivors: In addition to her husband, Sam, Lydia is survived by her Steven Lee and Lori of Austin, and Dr. Sam Lee and Jennifer and their daughter Abigail of Fort Worth; and numerous nieces, nephews and cousins and their families.
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