Juvencio (Raul) Morales Balderrama

Juvencio “Raul” Balderrama, age 84, of Austin, Texas went to be with our Lord on April 18, 2022. Raul was born as many will say “With wings on his feet.” He made his mark as a “Track Star” at Brownwood High School and Howard Payne College and continued running in track races throughout his life. The story the family loved to hear is when Raul’s classmate, Tommy Butler told the legendary Brownwood High School Track Coach Gus Snodgrass, “If you want our track team to win races, you should ask Balderrama to run because he is fast and beats us all of the time in P.E.” Coach Snodgrass asked Raul if he could run and Raul said, “Yes Sir.” Coach asked him to run with the team and Raul beat everyone. The coach said, “You are running track and you are on my track team.” Raul loved to win and the freedom running provided made for a lifelong passion. He held the record in the “Mile Run” for over twenty years at Brownwood High School. Later in an article Coach Snodgrass commented, “Raul Balderrama is without a doubt the best mile runner I’ve ever coached. Last year he won district, regional, the Tarleton Relays and placed fourth in state. His best time in the mile run is 4:32.” Raul loved his classmates from Brownwood High School and always looked forward to attending High School Reunions where stories from his track days were abundant. Raul attended Howard Payne College on a track scholarship. His stories as a star athlete throughout the years, were so much fun to listen to. One that stands out is when Raul was in training as a 101st Airborne Paratrooper. His platoon Sergeant had the whole group run drills. As soldiers dropped out, Raul kept on running. The Sergeant started asking him if he was ready to quit and Raul would say “No Sir.”  Finally, when they did stop running, The Sergeant questioned Raul’s ability to run for such a long time and Raul shared, “I ran track in high school and college”. Raul said the Sergeant was not happy and he got in trouble for not telling his Sergeant up front. Storytelling with a smile and another lesson learned. The love you take is equal to the love you make.

Raul was born, October 9th, 1937, to Gregoria (Morales) Balderrama and Juvencio Alcoser Balderrama in Somerset, Texas. The third of seven children, he grew up in Brownwood Texas. He and brother Rick delivered the Brownwood Bulletin newspaper before school each morning. After school, they worked at the Bowling Alley setting up pins late into the night. At days end, they would go home and study for their classes the next day. They happily learned the importance of hard work and education. After his tour of Military Service in the legendary 101st Airborne Division, Raul worked in sales with Kmart stores in the Fort Worth area. In 1972, he and his brother Arthur opened Music City, a music and electronics store in Brownwood TX. They closed the store in 1984 and Raul moved to Austin TX to work with his brother Rick who owned Rick’s Jewelers. Later he was a partner in Residential Glass with brother Arthur until his retirement.

Raul is survived by his two sons whom he loved dearly, Michael Balderrama of Austin and Jeffery Balderrama of Arlington; granddaughter, Alyssa Balderrama of Arlington; brother, Arthur Balderrama and wife Sandra of Schulenburg and sister, Dr. Ernestine (Tina) Balderrama Kubicek and husband Henry of Austin. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews who cherished him as their “Special Uncle.” Among the many nephews and nieces who were close to him are Mark Balderrama, Dominic Balderrama, Derek Balderrama, Kristine Balderrama Mox, Brad Balderrama, Trevor Balderrama, Christopher Morse, Shelbre Balderrama Petrie, Chris Alcaraz, Allen Albert and Jim Brown.

Raul was predeceased by his parents, brother, Edward Balderrama, sister, Alice Balderrama Maldonado and brother, Richard (Rick) Balderrama.

Visitation will be held on Wednesday, April 27, 2022 starting at 6:00 p.m. at Cook-Walden Funeral Home; 6100 N. Lamar Blvd., Austin, Texas followed by the praying of the Holy Rosary at 7:00 p.m. A mass will be held for Raul at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church, 12041 Bittern Hollow, Austin, Texas at 10:00 a.m., Thursday, April 28, 2022. Raul will be buried with Military Honors at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery, 1520 Harry Wurzbach Road, San Antonio, Texas at 1:45 PM Tuesday, May 17th, 2022.

The family would like to thank the dedicated Staff and Nurse Aides Aruba, Iris, Eleda, Maria, Adela, Rebecca and Mariel at Gracy Woods II Living Center who became family and who took such great care to make Raul’s life happy.

Contributions in Raul’s memory may be made to https://www.alz.org/texascapital