Birth date: Mar 21, 1944 Death date: Mar 4, 2026
Estela Salazar De La Fuente, born March 21, 1944, in Harlingen, Texas, passed away peacefully on March 4, 2026. She will be remembered for her warmth, strength, and the love she shared with her family and friends. Estela’s life Read Obituary
I met Estela when she worked for ARCO and I worked for a smaller company in Houston. We had a lovely dinner at the Brown Palace in Denver where she encouraged me to not worry about being frugal with my employer’s money. We stayed in touch over the years as we both moved around the country. I’ll miss our annual chats. She was a lovely, fun, generous woman.
Connie Ericson, Arlington VA
I worked with Estela as a fellow lawyer in the ARCO Legal Department Dallas office for many years. She was always a star. I fondly remember the time the guys in ARCO’s marketing department invited the male attorneys from Legal for a golf outing at a local country club. They planned to leave the women in the Legal and marketing departments to carry on working for the day of the golf event. This didn’t sit right with Estela, so at her instigation we lady lawyers invited the female marketers to an alternative event. We went for high tea at the Adolph’s Hotel Tea Room downtown and just closed up shop for the day. We wore our finest attire, hats, gloves and strings of pearls. It was a very ladylike way of making our point, and a good time was had by all.
I worked with Estela in the ARCO Legal Department , and thought she was appropriately named because she was always a STAR. I recall a time when our male ARCO marketing department clients invited all the male attorneys in the department for a golf outing. This left the little handful of female attorneys and marketers to carry on the work that day. Estela suggested we lady lawyers take our lady clients out for High Tea at the Adophus Hotel in downtown Dallas, and just close shop for the day. We dressed in our finest outfits, including hats, gloves and strings of pearls. It was a teachable moment for the guys, and we women had a wonderful Ladies Day out.
Norma Rosner Iacovo
Condolences to Estela’s family and friends. I met her at Lago Vista quilting group. She loved learning and would share her knowledge with our group. I remember one time she learned how to dye silk. She bought us all silk scarves for our first project. She was generous, with her time and talents. I will miss her. She had wonderful stories about her life. I’m better for knowing her. She taught courage, kindness and love, that remains in our hearts.
I remember all the good times we had at quilt retreats. We called our group The Threadless Bobbins. It was 30 years of fun, laughs, good food, good fellowship and wonderful, funny happy hours. Estela loved her champagne. She is going to be missed.
Estela is so loved! We shared so many fun memories throughout the years. We miss you so much already!
