Many of you have reached out asking how you can support the family of our beloved Luz Mary Pelaez (Mrs. Mary) following the sudden and heartbreaking tragedy that took her life and left her husband, Raul Uribe, seriously injured. Those who knew Mary know that her name, Luz, meaning light, described her beautifully. She was a light to the children she cared for, the special-needs students she served at Dickinson Elementary, her church community, her friends, and the many families who came to love her as one of their own. Mary lived a life of service. When she wasn't caring for children or teaching, she could so often be found giving her time to her church or volunteering to help someone else. She did these things quietly, without recognition and without asking for anything in return. Today, the people she loved would like to do the same for her family.

Raul is recovering from serious injuries and faces a long road of healing. Because his livelihood depends upon his work as a tennis coach, his recovery will also mean an extended period without his normal income. Family members need to travel from New York to Texas to help care for him while he heals. Raul and his family are private, proud, hardworking people, and asking others for financial assistance is not something they would ordinarily do. This page exists because the community asked for a way to help, not because the family asked the community to give.

Above all else, we ask that you keep Mary, Raul, and their entire family in your prayers. For friends who have specifically asked how they may help financially, this fund has been established as one central place to contribute. Funds will help with funeral and memorial expenses for Mary, medical and recovery expenses for Raul, necessary living expenses during the months he cannot work, and the cost of bringing family to Texas to help care for him. Please know that your presence, prayers, messages, and memories of Mary are every bit as meaningful as a financial contribution. Mary spent her life showing up for others. It is our privilege now to show up for the family she loved. In Mary's memory, may we continue sharing the light she so freely gave to all of us.