John Anthony Leal, age 41, passed away on Friday, November 17, 2023, just weeks after being diagnosed with a rare form of liposarcoma. Visitation will be held on Friday, November 24, 2023 from 5-7pm, with a rosary to be recited at 7pm at Richardson Colonial Funeral Home. Funeral services will be held on Saturday, November 25, 2023 at 10am at Richardson Colonial Funeral Home, with Father Tommy Chen officiating. Burial will follow at Port Lavaca Cemetery. Serving as pallbearers will be Jason Hernandez, Beto Olascuaga, John Nguyen, Pete Servantes, Paul Perez, Hiram Pena, Danny Duke and Russell Steamer. Honorary pallbearers are Michael Leal, Jayce Leal, Emrie Leal, Joseph Longoria, Ruben Rodriguez and Oscar Del Bosque and Aden Thedford.
John is survived by his parents, Pablo and Lucy Leal; his children, Emrie, Michael and Jayce Leal; and by numerous aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and coworkers. He is preceded in death by his grandparents, Santos Leal, Sr., Maria Leal, Adalberto Gonzalez and Cecilia Gonzalez.
John was born June 23, 1982, in Port Lavaca, Texas to Pablo and Lucy Leal. He graduated from Port Lavaca High School. He was well known to most as “DJ TAT”. He started DJing full time in 2016 all over the Crossroads, especially at Shooters in Victoria and Omar’s in Port Lavaca. Everything he did and played, he did it with such passion. When he started mixing his music, it would make people forget about their long workdays and tough times. He made people smile without even trying. John was a funny, outgoing and humble man. He was down to earth, a great friend and got along with everyone. He was a man who impacted so many lives not only through friendship, but through the music he mixed. If you didn’t see him DJing, you could probably catch him at the gym every day. He was a car enthusiast who took pride in his vehicles and a tattoo aficionado who enjoyed getting new ink. He was also an avid gamer. John loved his family, especially his 3 children. He was very active in their lives and was always hands on. He took part in all of their school and extracurricular activities. It gave him great joy to do all he could to ensure his kids were well taken care of and happy.
We might not ever understand why this happened to such a great and wonderful man, why life is unfair and cruel. But John’s legacy will live on through his family and friends that he made along the way. And he will never be forgotten. He lived his life to the fullest and stood by his motto: “Get Lost In The Music!”
Thoughts and memories may be shared at www.richardsoncolonial.com.
