Ernesto G. Perez Sr.

Ernesto G. Perez Sr. was born on August 1, 1942 to parents Pablo Perez Jr. and Maria Pura Garcia in Placedo, Texas. As the eldest son of seven children, Ernesto began work at a young age to help provide for his family. He would later recount these work-filled childhood years to his own children, jokingly telling them that he’d become a “man” at the ripe age of six. While living in Bloomington, Texas as a young man, Ernesto met Frances Gonzales and was joined to her in matrimony on July 4, 1963. They welcomed their first child Ernest Perez Jr. into the world in 1964 and their second, Eugene, in 1965. In 1967, Ernesto and Frances moved to Houston, Texas to find better work opportunities and to continue building their family. In Houston, their family grew with the addition of more children: Edward, Elizabeth, Eliot and Eloise.

A proud father, Ernesto loved watching his children participate in sports and, at times, even assumed the role of “coach”. Whether cheering from the bleachers or demonstrating how to throw a curveball, he was an actively engaged father in the lives of his children. In addition to supporting his children in all of their endeavors, Ernesto also greatly enjoyed dancing with his wife. He was a lover of history and self-education, making sure to read a new word from the Webster Dictionary aloud to his children every day upon getting home from work. He had a sweet-tooth for desserts in general, but especially favored anything with apple in it; from apple pie to apple turnovers, it didn’t matter as long as it was apple.

In addition to being a dedicated father and husband, he was also a hard worker and diligent provider for his family. In 1967, Ernesto began work at Central Freight Lines as a forklift operator and later became a driver. In conjunction with his work at Central, he also spent his summer vacation days back on the farms of Bloomington,TX with his father, making extra money to bring home to his family in Houston. In total, he worked for Central for 45 years before finally retiring in 2012. Even after his retirement, however, it was common for his children and grandchildren to see him donning a Central cap and/or shirt.

After a long and hard-fought battle with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, Ernesto Garcia Perez was taken into glory on May 29, 2016 at 2:09 in the afternoon. He is survived by wife of almost fifty-three years, Frances G. Perez, children and their spouses Eugene Perez and Oneida, Edward Perez and Melissa, Elizabeth Velasco, Eliot Perez, Eloise Zatopek and Julius; he is survived by grandchildren Rachel Staggs and Zachary Perez, Tara and Tiffani Saenz, Alyssa Velasco, Breanna and Nicholas Perez, Haley and Jake Zatopek, and great-granddaughter Brooklynn Staggs.

Visitation will take place from five o'clock until nine o'clock with a rosary held at seven o’clock in the evening on Thursday, June 2, 2016 at Brookside Funeral Home, 13747 Eastex Freeway, Houston, TX 77039. The funeral service will be held the following day at eleven o’clock in the morning on Friday, June 3, 2016 at St. Leo’s Great Catholic Church.