Jose Gabriel Sanchez

It is with heavy hearts that we announce the passing on October 5, 2025, of our dearly beloved husband, father, grandfather, and great grandfather, Dr. José Gabriel Sánchez, one of the kindest and most considerate human beings any of us have ever known. He slipped away peacefully, as his wife, daughter, and granddaughter took turns holding his hand and playing his favorite sacred music. José is predeceased by his parents, Adelaido and Angela Sánchez and by his siblings Heráclio David Sánchez, Joe Robert Sánchez, Daniel Sánchez, Martina Torres, Luis Sánchez, and Max Sánchez. He is survived by his beloved wife of over 56 years, Dr. Elizabeth Doremus Sánchez, their daughter, Amber Dunn, their grandchildren, Corbin Dunn and Elle Dunn, and their great- granddaughter, Sage. He is also survived by his three sisters, Vivian Sánchez, Adeline Chávez, and Patricia Sánchez.

Born in Las Animas, Colorado, on March 24, 1929, José spent his early childhood in the small village of Anton Chico, New Mexico, where his family had their roots. At the early age of 14, he and an older brother moved to Los Angeles to find work and broaden their horizons. Later, he moved back to New Mexico and then to Colorado, where he joined the family working in the beet fields. After another brief stint in Los Angeles, where he started high school, he moved back to be with his family, finishing high school in Fort Lupton, Colorado. After working for a short time at the steel mill in Pueblo, he joined the Air Force and was sent to Darmstadt, Germany, as a member of the Second Radio Squadron Mobile during the Korean War. Upon his return from Germany, thanks to the G.I. Bill, he enrolled at New Mexico Highlands University, where he received a B.A. in English. He received an M.A. in Spanish from the University of Illinois, Champagne-Urbana, and began to set his sights on a possible career in Academia, continuing on to the University of Colorado, where he received his Ph.D. in Comparative Literature. He has held teaching positions at Colorado State College in Greeley, the University of Texas at Austin, Purdue University, and the University of Texas at Arlington, where he taught courses in Spanish American Literature from 1975 until his retirement around 2004. It was in Austin where he met, fell in love with, and married his wife, Elizabeth, in 1968. Their daughter Amber was born in 1970. Over their many years together, they collaborated on various projects in literary research and lately, on editing his memoirs. They also worked together setting up Spanish immersion programs in Mexico for their respective universities, and it should be added that they travelled the world together extensively. Besides his warm personality and selflessness, José will be remembered for his intelligence and his keen sense of humor. He recently published on Amazon his memoirs, Up From Anton Chico, a book that has been praised by many readers for its vivid portrayal of family life in rural New Mexico and Colorado when there were few modern conveniences. He was very proud of this narrative accomplishment and enjoyed reading and hearing comments from his readers.