Jose “Joe” Cantu, husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, brother, son passed away peacefully on January 18, 2021 at the age of 90. He is survived by his wife of 68 years, Herminia Chavez Cantu, his children; Arnulfo “Ernie” Cantu, Jose Cantu Jr. (Belinda), David Oscar Cantu, Magdalena “Maggie” Cantu McCraw (Emil), Daniel Cantu (Sylvia, deceased), Armando Cantu (Sheila), Alberto Mario Cantu, Jaime Cantu (April), Carlos Rene “Charlie” Cantu (Perla), Laya Christina “Cha Cha” Garcia (Mario), his sister, Evangelina Sanchez, thirty-five beautiful grandchildren and twenty-seven precious great-grandchildren.
He was preceded in death by his parents, Arnulfo and Rebecca Cantu, his brothers; Armando, Oscar, Arnulfo, Luis, Alfredo, his sister, Rebecca Pena, and infant sister, Gloria.
Joe was born September 19, 1930 in Laredo, Texas. He served in the United States Army during the Korean conflict. He married his high school sweetheart, Herminia Chavez on November 9, 1952. They soon relocated to San Antonio, then Houston in search of opportunity. He retired from DuPont Chemicals as a production supervisor. He served as a volunteer fireman for the cities of Pasadena and Deer Park. In retirement, he served as a supervisor for the Mud District of Webster, Texas where he oversaw the construction of a community walking park. He spent his retirement enjoying good cigars, good music, and telling funny stories to his beloved grandchildren and great grandchildren. And as he would say upon finishing a tale…….”End of storyyyy”.
The only guide to a man is his conscience. The only shield to his memory is his rectitude and sincerity of his actions. For we are so often mocked by the failures of our hopes and the upsetting of our calculations. But with this shield, however the fates may play, we march always in the ranks of honor. – Winston Churchill
Due to the pandemic and COVID protocols, services will be private.
