Fausto Yturria, Jr., 89, peacefully entered into eternal rest at his home on September 10th, 2024, surrounded by his family and loving caretakers. He was a father, a son, a husband, a brother, business man, politician, philanthropist, rancher, socialite and performer. Fausto was always the life of the party, and his life was the greatest party.
He was born on January 19, 1935 to Fausto Yturria, Sr. and Marion Alexander Yturria in Brownsville, Texas. It was here that he was raised with his older siblings Frank, and Marion (Pansy).
He graduated from Brownsville High School in 1953. After famously failing out of THE University of Texas at Austin he would later earn a Bachelors of Science Degree in Agronomy from his beloved Texas A&M University in 1957. He then went on to serve in the Texas National Guard for eight years.
Fausto lived every day enjoying life’s greatest gifts. His family being the greatest gift of them all. On June 28th, 1964, he married his longtime sweetheart, Sandra Longoria. Together they were blessed with three children, Cassandra, Shelby, and Faustito. Raising his children came naturally to Fausto as he was truly a kid at heart. From teaching piano & carelessly dancing, to creating character impersonations, making his kids laugh through play was his greatest joy.
Fausto always joked, he never found himself in a place he didn’t know at least one person. His love for getting to know people meant that he and Sandra always had someone to host or a party to throw. Many weekends of his life were spent with his friends, gathered around a table playing Feliche Contento & enjoying each other’s company. His infectious personality meant that evenings would usually end up with lively music and dancing. His friendships took him around the world, from Mexico to Argentina, to South Africa and beyond. Despite having friends in far places, his favorite place to be was always South Texas.
If you couldn’t reach Fausto at his office in Brownsville, it was usually because he was driving around his family’s ranch. Being a steward of the land was a responsibility he took seriously. He dedicated himself to proper land management & maintaining the natural environment, like many of his ancestors before him. With his love for the outdoors, came his love for hunting wild game. He inherited his love for hunting from his father-in-law, whom he looked up to in every regard.
The love he had for ranching & hunting was rivaled only by his love for the creative arts. An avid fan of Latin jazz meant he always had instruments at hand, incase the call to perform ever overcame him. Fausto spent the majority of his life collecting art and music that meant something to him. This led to him meeting and befriending many of his favorite artists and performers, like Gene Autry, and Poncho Sanchez, Bob Kuhn, and Dan Mieduch.
Fausto knew how good life had been to him, which is why he dedicated much of his time to many philanthropic efforts and sat on a variety of boards within his community. A former director of Chase Bank of Texas, a board member of the Brownsville Economic Development Council, Brownsville Historical Society, Brownsville Public Utilities Board, Cowboy Artists of America Museum, The Witte Museum in San Antonio Tx, University of Texas Cancer Foundation, Methodist Hospital Foundation, Valley Zoological Society, Game Conservation International, University of Texas Health Science Center Development, Rio Grande Valley Boy Scouts Council, Texas Supreme Court Justice Committee, and was on the Board of Trustees for the Autry Museum of Western Heritage Center in Los Angeles, CA and the Marine Military Academy. He was one of the founding members of Mr. Amigo Association, an organization that was founded to celebrate the shared culture, friendship, and family between Brownsville, Texas and Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico.
He is preceded in death by his parents, his siblings Frank and Pansy, his son Shelby Theriot and his wife, Sandra.
He is survived by his caring daughter, Cassandra Yturria Wolfe (Brad), and son Fausto Yturria III, as well as his three grandchildren, Samantha Wolfe Ptacnik (Erick), Jason Wolfe & Scott Wolfe, and his great grandson, Luka Evans Ptacnik.
La familia quisiera agradecer a sus queridos cuidadores, el Sr. Luis Trejo y la Sra. Josefa Trejo. Dedicaron más de cuarenta años a las vidas de Fausto y Sandra. La Familia quisiera agradecer a Julia y Juan Hernandez por todos los años que han cuidado el querido rancho de nuestra family. The family would also like to give special thanks to his physician: Dr. Kalim Habet, as well as his overnight caregiver, Ivan Santillana.
Serving as Pallbearers: Mr. Luis Trejo, Mr. Gerardo Rodriguez, Mr. Taylor Blanton, Mr. Ken Schaefer, Mr. Mike Garcia, Mr. Jason Wolfe, Mr. Mike Ortiz, and Mr. David Garza. Serving as Honorary Pallbears will be: Mr. Stuart Pryor, Mr. Arthur Edelstein, Mr. Michael Rabinovich, Mr. Ray Smith, Mr. Carlos Sancho, Dr. Andrew Burgess, Mr. Tio Kleberg, and Mr. Danny Butler.
In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The Children’s Bereavement Center of the Rio Grande Valley. 2302 S 77 Sunshine Strip #202, Harlingen, Texas, 78550. (956) 368-4065 or Saint Joseph Academy in Brownsville, Texas.
A Holy Rosary for Fausto will be recited Friday, September 13, 2024 at 3:00 PM at St Mary's Catholic Church, 1914 Barnard Rd, Brownsville, Texas 78521. A mass of resurrection will be celebrated Monday, September 16, 2024 at 9:00 AM, 1914 Barnard Rd, Brownsville, Texas 78521. Services will conclude after the celebration of the mass of resurrection.
