Paul Gonzalez 1926 ~ 2009

Thank you for joining us as we celebrate the life of Paul Gonzales, born November 15, 1926 in Rosebud Texas to Refugio Gonzalez and San Juana Mendoza. He had two brothers, Porfillio and Abe, as well as three sisters, Ezparanza, Betty, and Fannie. He served in the Unites States Army from 1944-1950 and when he returned to Rosebud after service he married his soul mate, Micala Tijerina on October 1^st, 1950. In 1951, they were blessed with their first daughter Mary Helen. They then moved to Petersburg where they had their two other daughters, Rosemary and Irene. In Petersburg, Paul worked in the Theater, as a farmer, a butcher in the grocery store, did sheet metal work, and was a landscaper. After retirement he helped around the Petersburg post office. 

We remember Paul as a very friendly and sociable man who always had a smile on his face. He was a man of great spiritual faith and an extremely hard worker. He worked from sunup to sundown until he was no longer able.

We remember his love for chocolate and Dr. Pepper, and how he took an immense amount of pride in his cars and the speed they brought him. He got a great deal of satisfaction out of being able to get from Petersburg to Rosebud in only 5 hours. Every Saturday night, in the dark, he would wash his car and when Mickey would get on to him and ask him how he knew it was getting clean, he would simply respond “I can feel it.”    

Mary Helen remembers when she was pregnant with her son, Nate, and how Paul would rush her to the hospital every time she THOUGHT she was going into labor. When she finally went into actual labor she told Paul, and having already rushed to the hospital several times before only to find out that she was not in fact in labor, Paul had his doubts, and took his time. She says this is the only time she can remember him driving slowly.

Rosie remembers when Paul worked at the Grocery store. He would ride his bike to work and at the end of the day Rosie and Nene would wait for him at the end of the block and he would give them a ride back to the house.

Nene remembers the times she got in trouble as a kid and how Paul would bring her Tootsie Rolls and Dr. Peppers to make up for disciplining her.

 She also remembers his first days at the nursing home in Austin. While she was visiting she noticed the English-speaking staff attempting to speak Spanish to him in order to communicate with him. When she asked Paul, why he didn’t tell them he spoke English he said “Because I think it’s funny”

 We all remember his optimistic attitude towards life. During the time when Micala needed him the most, he was there.  He stayed strong and positive for her and stayed by her side until God called her home. Yajor Veda says, “Husband and wife are advised to shun negative qualities such as fear, weaknesses, etc. and become strong, enthusiastic, and optimistic so that peace can prevail in the home.” We all saw this in him, and when the choice was made for him to live in a nursing home. He understood and rose above it by participating in activities, and being the sociable person he was, he even made friends. Everyone loved him there. Many people came to visit him and when he was told they had had to leave even though he did not want them to. He would reply, “Okay, I’ll be here.”

Whether you remember him has Paul, Paulito, Uncle Paul, Grandpa Pauly, or Dad, he is sure to have a special place in your heart. And Grandpa, even though we didn’t want you to go, and we will miss you, we understand that you are somewhere better and until we see you again. “We’ll be here.”

 Grieving is natural human process in order for one to cope and heal from the loss of a loved one. We would like to leave you with a poem in hopes that it will help you heal.

 God saw he was getting tired
And a cure was not to be
So He put His arms around him
and whispered “come with me.”

With tear-filled eyes we watched him go
and saw him fade away
and although we loved him dearly
we could not make him stay.

A golden heart stopped beating
hard-working hands put to rest
God broke our hearts to show us
He only takes the best

—Author unknown