SAN ANTONIO – Bexar County Sheriff’s Office Deputy Meredith Portillo was remembered Tuesday during a Celebration of Life service at Cornerstone Church.
Family, friends, and her comrades in uniform gathered to comfort each other as they reflected on the life of the 20-year-old deputy.
Rachel Alonzo, Portillo’s aunt, shared encouraging words with those in attendance.
“She [Portillo] lived a life of joy and happiness,” Alonzo said.
Offering assurance, Alonzo said that Portillo was a woman of faith who drew strength from the scriptures. She urged mourners to take comfort in knowing that Portillo will forever be alive in their hearts and spirits and that they could share the Portillo’s in their daily lives.
“Let us love one another. Be kind to each other and do it with a big smile,” Alonzo said.
Having been with BCSO for less than a year, Sheriff Javier Salazar said he did not know Portillo as well as he wished he could have. As he addressed her family and friends, Salazar said he distinctly recalled four occasions when he and Portillo spoke. Those times being when she was part of the 2023 fall incoming class at the academy, when Salazar asked her and her fellow cadets if they would uphold their oath in every aspect, when he pinned her badge on her chest, and when Portillo asked him to take a picture with her and her family on graduation day.
Salazar said from what he has learned of Portillo since her passing, she was motivated, determined, caring, and made it a point to share the good things in her life, including her job. The sheriff said Portillo recruited her own brother to join BCSO. She also shared Biblical scripture with jail inmates.
The sheriff emphasized to Portillo’s family that in her brief time with BCSO, she left her mark.
“Heroes are forged in life not death,” Salazar said. “Because she served our community I consider her a hero, and a hero remembered never dies.”
Portillo was killed in a two-vehicle crash in the early morning hours of July 21.
San Antonio police said the deputy was in her car with two other passengers on their way to pick up something to eat when a pickup truck crashed into her car. Portillo and one of her passengers died on impact.
Portillo was laid to rest in a private burial ceremony.