LAS MILPAS, PHARR – Sister Gerry Naughton, 67, founder of A Resource in Serving Equality (ARISE), a grass-root organization supporting immigrants in the Rio Grande Valley, died last Wednesday October 28 in McAllen, after five years of battling cancer.
Naughton was one of the first community organizers in the Rio Grande Valley in the late seventies, when Las Milpas, and other communities in South Texas, were mostly populated by undocumented immigrants and low income families. In a different country, without English command, and with a lack of knowledge on how the system works, those immigrants were frequently exposed to abuses and discrimination.
As a member of Sisters of Mercy, Naughton walked streets and visited houses, always inviting immigrants to participate in a wide range of learning activities. The main feature of her social work was to promote neighbors supporting one another.
Born in Ireland, Naughton moved to the Valley in 1977 with the idea of empowering Latino immigrants. She started to meet neighbors in Las Milpas riding a bicycle. At that time, Las Milpas residents asked each other who she was and why she was riding a bicycle instead of driving a car. Naughton simply wanted to be closer to the people, says Ramona Casas, one of the ARISE founders and the first immigrant who met Naughton.
“She taught us how to be confident and proud of ourselves,” Casas says.
Visitation will be held at the Memorial Funeral Home in San Juan from 4:00 pm to 7:00 p.m. with a 7:00 pm prayer service on Sunday November 1. Graveside service will be conducted on Monday.
Gerrie Naughton was recognized by her work to improve the quality of life among Mexican immigrants in the Valley colonias.
