Oscar Gonzalez

Oscar was born July 14, 1969 in McAllen, TX. He graduated from H.M. King High School in 1987 and immediately enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he served aboard the USS New Jersey and USS Missouri. His duties took him to numerous locations around the globe including Southwest Asia and the Persian Gulf during Operation Desert Shield/Storm. Upon completion of his military service, Oscar returned to Texas where he worked many years with Bimbo Bakeries USA as a truck driver. He worked as an E- line operator along with his brother Joel and then as a dispatcher for Texas Energy.

Oscar had a passion for reading, fishing, building computers, sending cat memes, watching Fox News, & blasting Pink Floyd and Iron Maiden often. Oscar loved & played baseball, was a fan of the Houston Astros, and enjoyed watching Dallas Cowboys’ football games.

As an adolescent, Oscar had a knack for building intricate model airplanes and Star Trek Starships. While in high school in Salinas, CA, Oscar was a math tutor and loved to play Dungeons & Dragons.

Oscar was a jokester, he had a dark & dry sense of humor and sent funny memes or a YouTube videos to everyone throughout the day. He didn’t enjoy cooking, but he loved his Mom’s caldo de colita, S & S, and his sister-in-law, Letty’s, homemade enchiladas. His favorite cuisine was his son Nico’s Filipino dishes. His sister Cruz recalls Oscar’s after school Subway or Dominos surprise meals and eating cereal while watching Saturday morning cartoons together when he was on leave. His brother Gilberto remembers watching Sunday Kung Fu Theatre, which explains the shenanigans the three brothers got into.

Many fond memories were forged while sharing his love for fishing with his nephews and nieces at the bays. Oscar cherished going to the theater with his sons to watch Marvel & DC comic movies. Without fail, Oscar sent Shari’s Berries chocolate covered strawberries to his Mom and daughter in law, Mary An, for Mother's Day. He often spoke of his twin granddaughters and enjoyed watching them play, sing, and run around. He had a plethora of photos/screenshots of his grandchildren residing in the Philippines.

Oscar delighted in taking his great nephews to eat seafood as often as possible to see their faces light up as the plates of seafood were brought to the table. Oscar initiated the Christmas wish lists as early as April to spoil his grandchildren as thoroughly as possible. He generously supported his nephews and nieces in their pursuit of higher education. He loved and missed his cats, Bling, Calvin, Susie, Fiona, and Katrina.

Growing up in the Philippines without him was difficult for me, in a way my siblings and I cope through so many ways just to get by. However, whenever he would come and visit for a few weeks, he would always buy us gifts. For me, specifically, it was a Nesquik truck and an Ultimate Spider-Man Calendar; throughout my experiences of life, as of lately, this core memory of him giving me that toy truck always stuck with me, from that day forward I would either tell people (when I was a little kid) that he was my hero. For the calendar itself, that was the day he introduced me to my favorite superhero. I know these may seem self centered, but these are what’s giving me comfort since the day of his passing. I love my dad, he wasn’t perfect but he was there. He wasn’t what others expected but he was there. He may have been always far away from us, but he was there; an ear to listen to, being able to vent or even rant. He wasn’t perfect but he was always more than what others saw.

Our bond had gotten stronger since we came back from the Philippines, he would always invite my siblings and I to catch movies in Corpus or even just to spend time at Tia Rosie’s house. I couldn’t wait for him to meet my family; Luke, Dahlia, and my wife Angielyn, but knowing that he is no longer suffering gives me peace of mind. I wish I had heard all these great stories about him, but what I had experienced with my father will be forever remembered in my family.

Oscar is preceded in death by his father, Juan Jose Gonzalez, left to cherish his loving memory are his mother; Francisca Andrade Gonzalez, his children; Nicolas & Mary An Rivera, Jaycee & Brena Ventura, John Patrick & Ma. Angielynn Gonzalez, Nicole Jean Ventura, his brothers and siters; Gilberto & Elida Gonzalez, Joel & Letty Gonzalez, Delia Cantú, Rosa Ana Gonzalez, Cruz & Roberto González, along with his grandchildren: Isla Rivera, Talia Rivera, Damian Lucas De Boda, Dahlia Lucia Gonzalez, ten nephews and nieces and fifteen great nephews and nieces