SANDRA RUTH BRIDGES VIVION

Fort Worth, Texas - This is NOT an obituary! That term means “notice of death.” Death is final. 

This is a notice of transition. Our mom is finally free from her lifetime of suffering. No more pain, no more anxiety, and no more fear of what new pain the next day will bring.

Born to Rosario Caro Bridges in Rio Grande City, she was an only child raised by a family of strong-willed Hispanic women. She was diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis as a young adult. Before her diagnosis, she was as active as any young girl could be. She was a high school cheerleader; she loved to bowl and to dance. As the arthritis took hold, it came with force, crippling her hands, her feet, and all her joints in every way. Despite the pain and disfigurement and all the surgeries, she continued to move, powering through the pain. She never wanted to stop.

She met our dad, Robert C. Vivion, at Caro’s Restaurant on Bluebonnet Circle. They got married on January 23, 1964 (but also got married by the church on February 29, 1964, so they had a leap-year anniversary!), and they stayed married for over 50 years until our dad’s death on Thanksgiving Day in 2019.

Although our mom was told during the early stages of her arthritis that she may not be able to have children or even walk at some point, she refused to accept that prognosis. She had the three of us, Laura Vivion Smith, Callie Vivion Matthews, and Sally Ruth Vivion; she helped run the restaurant(s) (Caro’s on Curzon and Robert’s on University) with our dad and for a long time managed the phones at Dillard’s at Hulen Mall. She did everything in her power to keep moving.

She loved to work in the garden, travel and attend food shows with dad, bake (she made the best amaretto cheesecake ever!) and enjoy a good margarita on a Saturday night. She was always winning a door prize of some kind, finding money in odd places and even was the grand prize winner of a Star-Telegram sweepstakes where she won a brand-new GMC SUV. She was one lucky lady!

Dad’s death was one more challenge that made fighting the never-ending pain all that more difficult. I don’t know that we truly understood how hard that was on her. A month after Dad died, she adopted a Mini-Australian Shepherd, Cooper, who stayed by her side every moment, including until her death. She loved Cooper as much as any human can love an animal. Every doctor she visited knew Cooper!

We did all we could during the four and half years after Dad’s death to make her as comfortable as possible. Her pain, discomfort, and weariness increased exponentially over time. Dr. Brian Byrd helped us manage her care with great skill, compassion and attention. During the last year and a half, she had the constant care of Erica Ramirez, who did everything for Mom and provided her the companionship and devotion that she needed so Mom could stay in the comfort of her home.

Even in death she was in motion. We have no doubt she is experiencing, for the very first time in over 50 years, what it is like to be pain-free. What a day glorious day it must have been for her!

Everyone who knew our mom loved her laugh, commented on her gorgeous skin and felt empowered by her sheer determination to keep moving, keep smiling and keep finding ways to laugh.

The loss we feel is tremendous, but we acknowledge we have to put her before us because we know now, she is free from pain.

As we work through being three sisters without our parents, we must and will continue their legacy – stick together, Sunday feasts and always keep moving.

We thank her caregivers, the staff at Palm Primary Care, and her other medical providers for helping manage all that they could to make her as comfortable as possible.

 She lives on in our hearts and forever will.

In addition to her daughters, Sandra is survived by her sons-in-law, Jesse Smith and Russell Matthews: grandchildren, Devin Matthews and his wife, Andrea, Warren Smith and his spouse, Lucas Farris, Harris Matthews and his wife, Devyn Teague, Emma Ruth Smith, Sophia Rose Panzera, and Joseph Santino Panzera; cousin, Mary Margaret Whitten Moseley, her husband, Fr. Richard Moseley, and their children, John and Myles; cousin Sylvia Arrequin; and her dear friends, Imelda Cavazos and her husband, Sonny and Josephine Parker. There is a host of extended family and friends who cherished both mom and dad as restauranteurs and just simply as awesome people.

Family and friends will gather from 2 to 3 pm Saturday, August 17, in the Great Room at Harper & Lucas, formerly Robertson Mueller Harper. A Recitation of the Holy Rosary and the reading of Scriptures will begin at 3 pm. She will be laid to rest next to her husband, Robert, on Monday, August 19, in the Italy Cemetery, Italy, TX.