Governor Greg Abbott's wife Cecilia Phalen Abbott family tree, Mexican Ancestors by Mary Cummins

Governor Greg Abbott,Gregory Wayne Abbott, wife, spouse, Cecilia Phalen, Cecilia Therese Phalen, family,ancestry,heritage, dna, ethnicity, mexican, mexico, immigrant, mary cummins, genealogist, family tree, pedigree, mother, father, siblings, children, hispanic, first lady, segura, rodriguez, calnan

Cecilia T Phalen Abbott is the wife of Texas Governor Greg Abbott, Gregory Wayne Abbott. I did his family tree for Geneastar years ago. Governor Greg Abbott's ancestors are immigrants just like Cecilia Phalen's ancestors. Always amazing when descendants of immigrants hate other immigrants. They want to deny them the rights which they themselves had and used to come to this country to flee oppression and have a better life. It's more upsetting in this case as Cecilia's mother speaks in Spanish in a political ad telling Latinos that Abbott is a "family man" and a "man of faith" who cares about "our values" when that is not the case.

* This article does not include full birth dates of living people. Only the year is included in order to differentiate among people with similar names. All photos are copyright free and used for education. 

Cecilia was born in 1959 in Texas. Her parents were teachers William Joseph Phalen born 1933 in Michigan and Maria de la Luz "Mary Lucy" Segura born 1934 in Texas and died November 7, 2020. Cecilia's paternal side is from England, Ireland and Maternal is from Mexico. Mary Lucy Segura Phalen's obituary is below.

"Mary Lucy Phalen (nee Maria de la Luz Segura) went to meet our Heavenly Father on November 7, 2020 after a brief illness. She passed peacefully surrounded by family who prayed and sang at her bedside.

She was the youngest daughter of Agustin and Leonor Segura who emigrated from Mexico to Texas at the turn of the 20th century. She was raised with strong Catholic values that emphasized faith, family and a generosity of spirit. She attended St. Henry's elementary and high school and graduated Salutatorian. She earned her Bachelor's degree from Our Lady of the Lake College.

She became a teacher, which was truly a vocation for her. She taught at various Catholic schools including St. Martin's Hall, St. Paul's and St. Anthony's. She also taught in the SAISD for 30 years at schools, including Horace Mann and Longfellow. She loved teaching and always referred to her students as "my children".

After she retired, she tutored neighborhood children who could not attend school due to illness or who needed extra help. This was her joy! She also volunteered her teaching services at Our Lady of the Atonement when they were in transition and were in desperate need of good teachers.

Her most fateful teaching assignment was when she was asked to fill in at St. Henry's in 1956 after the sudden and tragic death of one of their nuns. There, Mary Lucy met Bill Phalen, a fellow teacher who shared her same strong Catholic values. They married on December 28, 1957 and had four children: Joseph, Cecilia, Norbert and Letitia. She was very proud of her children and because of her ongoing emphasis on education, her children went on to earn college degrees, including post-graduate degrees.

She adored her son-in-law and daughters-in-law as if they were her own children and would do anything for them. She became somewhat of a celebrity when she starred in the "Madrina" commercials during the gubernatorial campaign for her son-in-law, Greg Abbott. This commercial ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=epeGzWXUYgE https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yqONQ7ErAsY English: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ouPDw4pWOBA ) proved to be effective with gaining the Hispanic vote. She was so proud that her daughter, Cecilia, became the first Hispanic First Lady of Texas. Sadly, during this victorious time, she lost her son, Norbert, to cancer.

She loved music. She had a beautiful singing voice and played both the piano and organ. She shared her gift of song at various weddings and funerals. Anyone planning these important family events always knew they could count on both Lucy and Bill to organize the music.

Her house was always your house! The Phalen home became a hub for many celebrations, including Thanksgiving, Christmas, rehearsal dinners and wedding receptions, to name a few. Extended family and friends knew they were always welcome!

She was an excellent cook and she had some iconic items like her famous fruit salad that could not be replicated. Music was always a big part of the Phalen experience so everyone was encouraged to sing Christmas Carols in harmony.

If anyone needed a place to stay for the holidays or if they were in between places in life, her door was open and they were treated as family. If anyone needed help and approached her, they would not be left out in the cold. This included stray animals. Mary Lucy exemplified her name, Maria de la Luz, meaning Mary of the light!

She is survived by her husband of nearly 63 years, William (Bill) Phalen, her son and daughter-in-law, Joseph and Yvette Phalen, daughter, First Lady Cecilia and Texas Governor Greg Abbott, daughter-in-law, Rosie Torres Phalen (the late Norbert Phalen) and daughter, Letitia Phalen MD. She is also survived by her grandchildren James and Natalie Phalen (Joseph and Yvette), Joshua Rocha, Clarissa, Erica, Olivia and Samuel Phalen (the late Norbert Phalen and Rosie Torres Phalen) and Audrey Abbott (Cecilia and Greg Abbott). Surviving great-grandchildren including Roman and Monique Rocha, as well as Charizma and Sebastian Boone.

She was preceded in death by her beloved son, Norbert Phalen, as well as her parents, Agustin and Leonor Segura, siblings, Agustin and Jose Segura and Nina Barner."

Maternal Family

Cecilia's great grandfather was Jose Augustino Segura born in Mexico 1900 and died 1955 in Texas. He was a janitor.  Her great grandmother was Leonor Rodriguez born in Mexico 1902 and died 1997 in Texas. All older ancestors on maternal side born in Mexico.

Paternal Family

Cecilia's paternal family is from England, Ireland, France and Scotland. 

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