Rosa Luna, a Harvard City Council alderwoman for the 4th Ward, has died, city officials said Wednesday.

“We are sad of her passing, and offer comfort and peace to her family for this terrible loss,” Harvard Mayor Mike Kelly said.

When she ran to retain her seat in 2023, Luna, who died Sunday at age 65, told the Northwest Herald that she wanted to ensure Harvard’s Hispanic community felt as if it had a role in the city.

“I want to be the voice for them – to get their input, talk to them and find out what they want to see in Harvard,” Luna said. “But also, that they have to get involved and not complain” if they do not.

She was named to the City Council in 2021, filling a seat that was left vacant in the spring elections.

Alderman Matt Perkins, who also represents the 4th Ward, said Luna was always on the phone with constituents, working to help them.

“Anytime there was a constituent who called, she would try to help them out and find solutions,” Perkins said. “She was very good at working with constituents.”

Perkins said he knew Luna long before they served on the council together. He went to school with her sons and had known her for 30 years.

“She was always very kindhearted,” Perkins said.

Luna and her family moved to the community in 1974, when Luna was just 14. Hers was one of the first Latino families in town, she said as the city prepared to honor her father.

In June 2024, the entrance road at Harvard’s Milky Way Park was named for Vicente Garza.

Garza had just moved to Harvard for a job with H & E Sod Nursery in 1974. The job came with housing, she said, allowing him to send for his 14-person family in South Texas.

It was a culture shock, Luna said, as at first they were the only Spanish-speaking children in Harvard schools.

“My dad was very involved in the community as more immigrants and Spanish-speaking ... began coming in,” Luna said.

It was her desire to unite both sides of Harvard – the Spanish-speaking residents and the English speakers – that made her want to be in local government, she said.

“We have a mixed culture, and we need unity,” Luna said in 2024. “We feel like we are part of the community, and Harvard is a great town.”

Luna had been sick with an unspecified illness for a few months, attending the City Council meetings remotely.

“Her dedication was just amazing,” 1st Ward Alderwoman Annamarie Platt-Miller said. “I can’t remember her missing a meeting and even having to call in. ... She was always there and always present. She was a driving force in Harvard.”

Survivors include her sons, Raul Luna and Eric Luna; five grandchildren; and many siblings.

A visitation is set from 10 a.m. to noon Nov. 8 at Saunders & McFarlin Funeral Home, 107 W. Sumner St., Harvard, and from 1 to 4 p.m. Nov. 8 at The Starline Factory’s Helm Room, 300 W. Front St., with a memorial service to follow.