Tabitha Bianca Padilla
Tabitha Bianca Padilla, affectionately known as "Tabs" by her friends, was a bright spot in our lives and will be IMPOSSIBLE to forget. Her fiery red hair, charm and quirky humor made her presence welcome everywhere. There was no one she couldn't relate to. She shared her inner circle with her partner Chris, her mom, Lori and her brother Eddie. She has a nephew, Makuyi, that she cared about deeply. She was born in California in 1986 and spent the first chapter of her life there with her mom and brother, living near family and friends. She had a special bond with her grandmother, Anita (aka Grams) and was close to her Aunt Jeanne and her cousins, Angelina, JD and Joseph from her mom's side. She was also loved and cared for by her paternal grandparents, Jessica & Tony Padilla, her father, Edward Padilla and her cousin Rosie. She initially fought the move to Texas at age 16, but she began to love Texas and it became her home. She met so many people that became part of her life. Once you met her, she was a lifelong friend. She was incredibly smart and had the ability and talent to pursue many of her interests. She was an outstanding student; she made the Dean's List at Northw...[more]View Full Online Obituary and Tributes
Vista College and represented her school in the 2007 ethics bowl where her team went up against 15 universities and took third place! She dreamed of getting into the University of Texas, Austin and was elated when she received her acceptance letter. She graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in Philosophy in 2013. She recently started working on her masters in business administration. She joined the UT women's rugby team in her final year and later played with the San Marcos Sirens. She loved the positive vibes of her team and coach (and the pub crawls!). She was a big fan of the New Zealand All Blacks and went to Philadelphia to watch them play and perform their Haka. She had many hobbies, but motorcycle riding topped the list; she loved the feeling of riding her Yamaha FZ8 in the Texas hill country or the busy streets of Austin. She was very safety conscious and promised her mom she would never go over the speed limit (although we know that was a fib). She had a competitive nature. If you ever played a game with her, she probably won. She was always the first to finish a school exam (and rocked it, of course). She mastered the Rubik's cube and would challenge anyone to do it faster. But she wasn't a sore loser; it was just fuel to do better next time. Tabitha had incredible music talent. She started whistling as an infant, making her own little tunes. She taught herself to play her favorite songs on her fisher-price piano as a toddler and later learned how to read music and play the guitar beautifully. She also played the piano, organ, flute, banjo, violin or any instrument she came across. Her other favorite things include photographing and exploring nature, collecting all things raccoons & foxes, listening to podcasts (Hidden Brain was her fav) and solving puzzles. She loved cooking (and eating noms); her pozole could compete with anyone's grandma and she would choose a taco over any fancy meal. She had a way with dogs; she just understood them and other people's dogs would fall in love with her. She loved to go to the shelter and say hello to all the dogs that were waiting for families. She would take them for a walk and give them comforting rubs. Her dream was to have a place where she could take all the unwanted doggos and make them feel loved. She cared for all animals and would go out of her way to make sure strays had food and shelter. She even named the walking stick that lived in her yard (Beauregard) and did what she could to keep him safe. Tabitha cared a lot about injustices in the world. When she was about 9, she made a sack lunch for the two homeless men that lived nearby and asked her mom to drive her to deliver them. She supported organizations that help women and children living in poverty. She donated regularly to a program that provides feminine products to low income women (https://www.helpingwomenperiod.org/). Wherever Tabitha worked, she gave all of herself and found a way to help others. She installed internet service for Spectrum where she met lots of elderly people that she patiently helped with electronic issues and listened to their stories. She worked for the City of Austin water utility where she met good friends (and most likely gave them safety advice). When she became a pest control technician, she spent her free time learning about insects; this job tugged at her heart because she wasn't a fan of hurting nature. Her most recent work adventure was managing a CVS store in southwest Austin (go store #59!). She took pride in making her store a special place (her balloon arches were incredible!) and she wanted her team to always feel appreciated. It is hard to understand why this vibrant woman would decide to leave us. She had internal struggles that were complicated. She would want us to remember the best of her, embrace our families and friends and be good to each other (and adopt a pet if you can). Please join us in celebrating her life - All are welcome Saturday, December 16, 2023 at 1:00 pm Harrell Funeral Home of Kyle 1715 Kirby, Kyle, Texas 78640
