Governor Abbott issued a tweet with the sad news Saturday night that his mother in law died.
Mary Lucy Phalen was a steadfast supporter of the governor, the unabashed star of many of his television commercials starting in 2014, passing away near San Antonio with family by her side.
The longtime teacher was a first-generation American, the daughter of Mexican immigrants and an Irish American with aspirations in the priesthood.
Mary Lucy Phalen was 86.