Ely Sanchez Chicas

Ely Sanchez Chicas passed away January 12, 2019, at the age of 26. Ely was born June 9, 1992 to Eugenio and Margarita Sanchez. Since both of his parents and all of his grandparents were from El Salvador, Ely grew up loving the traditional Salvadoran foods. Growing up in Dallas and College Station with his five siblings, Ely was very close to his family. He walked to and from school each day with his sisters Cesia and Karina. As a child, he was always comedic, laughing and telling jokes. He enjoyed playing pranks on people, like when he put a worm in his little sister Cesia’s spaghetti. He loved playing basketball with his best friends Victor and “Vata.”

Once Ely got to high school, he developed a love of drawing. He started working at Whataburger, and continued with this job until he left to join the Army. Family was very important to him, and he loved going to the movies with the whole family. Ely attended A&M Consolidated High School until his junior year and graduated from Timber Academy. He went on to take some college classes at Blinn.

Ely found a sense of purpose in his service in the Army. He served in the infantry as a gunner in Afghanistan from 2011-2014. It was the only job that he ever found to be meaningful. Although he considered acting upon his return from the Army, Ely struggled with finding a purpose. A very caring and generous person, he wanted to be a provider to help his mom.

Although Ely was often sad and in pain as a side effect from his medications, he was always charming and consistently devoted to helping his mother and father who he loved dearly. He constantly laughed and told jokes with his brother Kevin, his nephew Alexander and nephew Gustavo. He was there for his sister Cesia when she needed her brother’s advice. He took the time to spend time with each of his siblings, even if they were out of state. They all knew they were important to Ely and that they could count on him. All holidays were spent together as a family. He loved Christmas and Thanksgiving, especially his sister Elsy’s cooking.

Ely was a fun-loving person who enjoyed playing and watching basketball whenever he got the chance. He liked Rap music, especially Eminem, Kodak Black, and SPM, and was pretty good at freestyling about just about anything. He also loved watching comedy videos by Bernie Mac and Jorge Falcon. He had a real talent for drawing and had an interest in being an actor. Two of Ely’s favorite trips were when he turned 18 in Mexico and Disneyland.

Ely leaves behind his parents Margarita and Eugenio Sanchez as well as his siblings Michael, Elsy, Karina, Cesia, and Kevin. He will be deeply missed.

To honor Ely’s life, his family has planned a visitation for Monday, January 21 from 10-11:30, with a service to celebrate his life starting at 11:30. There will be a reception following the service, lasting until 2:30. All services will be at Hillier Funeral Home of College Station. Interment will be with full military honors at College Station Memorial Cemetery at 3 PM.