Esther Arzola, as a young
She also was the longtime owner of the Island Café and Smokehouse in Port Aransas.
Arzola, 74, died of complications due to diabetes on Wednesday, July 29.
Mayor Keith McMullin said she was a kind and caring person who approached her work as city secretary with a relaxed confidence.
“ That confidence was well-justified, because she knew so much more about Port Aransas policies and history than just about anybody else,” McMullin said. “When she retired (in 2013), 38 years of institutional knowledge walked out the door.”
Arzola, pictured in 2013.
She was preceded in death by her parents; her husband, Pedro “Pete” Arzola Sr.; and a son, Noel Arzola.
She is survived by a son, Pete Arzola Jr. (Dora) of Port Aransas; two brothers, Leon Contreras Jr. ( Mary) and David Contreras Sr. (Oralia), both of Ingleside; six grandchildren; 14 great-grandchildren; one great-great grandson; and several nieces and nephews.
Services were held on Monwoman. day, Aug. 3, at Charlie Marshall Funeral Home in Aransas Pass. A gathering to remember Arzola also was held later the same day at the Port Aransas Civic Center.
Arzola’s first year at city hall was 1975. She started off as a receptionist, with some bookkeeping responsibilities. She became city secretary a year or two later.
Esther Arzola sits at her desk at city hall in 2013, not long before she retired. Arzola, who was employed by the city for a record 38 years, died on Wednesday, July 29.
“ It’s been such a fun thing,” she said of her career during an interview with the South Jetty at the time of her retirement. “It’s been my life. I established such great friendships.”
When she retired, her job responsibilities included serving as custodian of records and elections administrator for the city, the Port Aransas Independent School District and Nueces County Water Control and Improvement District No. 4.
Arzola was responsible for keeping city council minutes, dealing with open records requests, handling legal notices and providing administrative support.
The position has involved personnel director duties such as maintaining a pay grade system and personnel records. She also had to provide orientation for new employees, review personnel policies for needed revisions, deal with grievances, handle worker compensa- tion claims, run employee incentive programs and handle employee insurance benefits and the retirement pension fund.
City secretaries must be highly “adaptable to different administrators that come in with different ideas,” Arzola said. “But, my theory is, you do your work. You concentrate on that. Every person who comes in my door – they’re a customer. I don’t care if they’re your friend or you don’t really like them. That customer shouldn’t know the difference. It’s a professional approach.”
The city hired Rockport City Secretary Irma Parker to the Port Aransas post after Arzola retired.
Arzola got a Lifetime Achievement Award during the 2013 Port Aransas Chamber of Commerce Celebration and Citizen of the Year event in which Suzanna Reeder was named citizen of the year. The Lifetime Achievement Award is for civic service aside from what one accomplishes on the job.
As a mother, “Oh man, she was the best. She was very loving and devoutly believed in God, a very strict Catholic,” said Pete Arzola. She was a member of St. Joseph Catholic Church.
“She always gave good advice to her brothers, myself and my wife and always was eager to help you learn and grow,” Pete said.
She used the Island Café to try to do good in the community, said Pete, manager of the restaurant.
“ If someone needed a helping hand, a job, she always wanted me to find something for them to do, maybe wash dishes or clean out the parking lot, just something to help them out,” Pete said.
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