Joe I Cardenas

He is survived by his children—

Rick Cardenas MD (Joy Pitts), Celeste Cardenas PhD, and Sonja Turner (Richard), several grandchildren and a couple of great grandchildren. As a father, he will be dearly missed.

Dad was a man of singular focus and bravado—a trailblazer, a visionary. He was proud to be from Weslaco, where he practiced law beginning in 1965.

Graduating in the top 10% of his class in Weslaco High School (1949), Dad attended Texas A&M College Station (1953), served in the Air Force as 1st Lieutenant (1954-59), then graduated from the University of Texas Law School (1963). He was offered jobs in Dallas and Houston, but ultimately accepted the position of Assistant District Attorney with the Hidalgo County Courthouse.

Shifting into a solo law practice, whereby he saw the needs of the community, he implemented “service above self.” And became a highly respected pillar of the community, whose leadership left an indelible mark on Weslaco.

He volunteered extensively in many organizations:

- [ ] Rotary Club - President

- [ ] Knights of Columbus - Grand

Knight

- [ ] Boys Club of Weslaco - President

- [ ] Chamber of Commerce - President

and awarded “Outstanding Citizen”

- [ ] GTE Southwest Board of Directorsh 

(1979 - 1994)

- [ ] City Commissioner and Mayor Pro-

Tem

- [ ] Municipal Judge

- [ ] Hidalgo County State Bar - member

- [ ] Texas State Bar - member

To honor and celebrate his life, we will be holding a memorial service on August 30, 2025 (Saturday) at 1:00pm at Cook-Walden/Forest Oaks in Austin.