Kayla Elvira Mungaray was born June 4, 1988, to Richard and Olga Mungaray. Kayla was born in San Antonio, Texas, and at the age of 7 moved to Corpus Christi, Texas with her parents and three older sisters; Kristina,
Kathryn, and Kamille. In a tragic accident, Kayla’s life came to an end November 20, 2004.
Immediately following Kayla’s death, friends and family gathered to form the “Kayla Elvira Mungaray Music Scholarship Foundation.” The Foundation promotes the same things that Kayla believed in strongly, which included
higher education and a passion for music. Kayla’s dream was to get a college degree and also pursue her passion for music. While her dreams were cut short through the tragic accident, this Foundation will allow her
dreams to be realized by many other students that are pursuing a college degree that share a similar passion for music.
Kayla’s uncle at the eulogy spoke the following words during Kayla’s funeral
November 23, 2004:
“In life, we probably are close to less than a handful of friends and family that embody all the characteristics that we admire and strive to emulate in our own lives. Kayla Elvira Mungaray was one of those very few people.
Kayla had that ‘something special’ that drew and attracted people like a magnet to her. She was not only gorgeous on the outside, but also equally beautiful on the inside. To know Kayla was to love Kayla. She lived life
huge, in a tenderhearted, non-assuming, affable, always smiling kind of way. Wherever she went, she was always surrounded by people. She had no enemies, only friends."
During the funeral, I spoke with many of Kayla’s friends and family and wrote down words and phrases used to describe her.
“When Kayla walks in a room, she lights up a room.”
“Kayla was always a ray of sunshine.”
“In every picture Kayla ever took, she always had a smile.”
“Kayla had this love and zest for life unlike anyone else.”
When we think of Kayla, we remember a picture taken when she was 3 years old, standing on a dresser about three feet high, in her underwear, with this huge guitar bigger than she was, singing and playing like a rock star!
In another picture taken when she was about eight or nine years old, Kayla was the epitome of a big heart and tender spirit. Kayla was holding a dog in a bear hug, her face cuddled next to its face, and the dog’s legs hanging down past her knees.
Kayla was vivacious and passionate; she loved to play the guitar, was on the Student Council, snowboarded, played tennis, volunteered for the Humane Society and the Hispanic Heritage House, and…she loved to shop!
Kayla loved her family and friends. She loved to cook for them, eat out at TGIF, the Olive Garden, Starbuck’s, My Favorite Muffin, and Wendy’s. She also loved to travel with her parents to Las Vegas and Colorado. Kayla
couldn’t wait for the day she turned 21 years old to go to Las Vegas and ride around in a limo so she could raise her head through the sunroof and holler and wave at everybody walking along the streets. Kayla hated to sleep…she
thought she might miss some piece of life. She lived every day to its fullest. During the summer, at about 2 or 3 in the morning, Kayla and her dad would go to Wal-Mart to shop and to Denny’s to eat breakfast. She would come
home with a bunch of stuff, and the next morning her mom would find it, and always claimed they didn’t need it!!
I saved one word for last to describe Kayla – Courageous. She wasn’t born with super powers. She wasn’t born a genius or a natural athlete, just a desire to make the most of herself, and the willingness to try to constantly
improve herself and the world she lived in. Even when she failed, fell short, or made a mistake, she took responsibility and set a new path to make things right and to succeed.
In closing, I thought of what Kayla would want us to always remember:
Face your fears, dream big, live life to its fullest, don’t let setbacks stop you from accomplishing what you believe in – what you dream. If you fall short, learn from it, and kick butte the next time…maybe not kick butte…maybe so!”
