Gilbert A. Gonzales

Gilbert Alex Gonzales, 95, passed away in his home surrounded by his loving family. Born in McKeesport, PA, he moved to San Antonio as a child. His loving, creative mother, Josephine, passed on her best traits to her son: work hard, love deeply, and always have faith in God, especially during tough times.

As a child of the Great Depression, Gilbert found ways to support his family. He delivered baby dresses his mother sewed to clothing factories. He built a shoeshine box and worked for tips. At age 14, a manager from Blackwell Burner Co. hired him to keep the shop floors swept. There he learned more about metal work and welding. Later Gilbert joined the Coast Guard, serving as a ship’s cook and steward’s mate during WWII.

After his brothers, TK and Raymond, started Gonzales Garage, they built a side structure so their little brother could open his own business, Gilbert’s Welding Service. He began making iron brackets, porch railings, and guard rails. To make extra money on weekends, he made and sold clothes-line poles from the back of his truck.

In 1949, he married a clever, funny woman named Consuelo Chauvin, who had studied bookkeeping in high school. She taught him how to make do and how to live on a budget. They worked together to build Gilbert’s Welding Service into a successful business. Gilbert built the original animal barns at the Freeman Coliseum and the first baseball field bleachers at St. Mary’s University. He built a fountain for a pavilion at Hemisfair ’68, and did smaller jobs like car ports, ornamental columns, and metal buildings all over the city. In 1989, the San Antonio Express-Newspaper featured him as one of the “People Who Make San Antonio Special,” with a photo of Gilbert in front of the window guards he made at Market Square.

Gilbert also found business success as the owner of Rocket Car Wash and four self-service car washes. He hired teens in the neighborhood to work at the car wash. His sons worked outside; his daughters cashiered. He also hired retired friends looking for part-time work to help customers at the self-service car washes.

However, if you asked Gilbert for his best accomplishment, he always mentioned his seven children Gilbert Jr, Michael, Christine, Diane, Joseph, Frank, and Vincent. He proudly bragged that he worked to give each one twelve years of Catholic school and paid for each one to attend the college of their choice. Each one earned a college degree. He encouraged them to find a career they wanted and work hard to make it a success—words also expressed to his beloved grandchildren. He often provided extra money for his grandchildren’s college textbooks. He barbecued delicious brisket, fajitas, or hamburgers when they came to visit.

Gilbert often took his children (and grandchildren) to Port Aransas to eat sandy burgers on the beach, to fish on the pier with “cut bait,” and to enjoy drippy ice cream cones. He fried crispy corn dogs with a corn tortilla wrapped around a wiener. He made fresh salsa in the molcajete every Saturday morning, and took his family to eat at The Malt House, Hot Dog Haven, and La Casita restaurant. Friday or Saturday nights were spent at local drive-in movie theaters. The owners gave him free passes as a bonus after he repaired the metal frames around the outdoor screens or straightened speaker poles hit by careless drivers.

Gilbert was an active member of the Little Flower Church Men’s Club. He set up his scaffolds to change lightbulbs in the church, cooked hamburgers at church festivals from a barbecue pit he had built, and organized Sweetheart dances to make money for the church. He also installed the first air-conditioning system for the church in 1981. To keep Holy Cross High School open after the school lost Archdiocesan support in 1968, Gilbert helped organize fund raisers, including concerts with singer Vikki Carr. He also made repairs around the church and school for free.

After he closed Gilbert’s Welding Service, Gilbert still kept a small welding shop in his garage. He made metal handrails and ramps for elderly friends. He built an iron fort for his grandchildren, a metal rack to hold his grandson’s fish tanks, and a steel hat rack for his granddaughter’s college apartment. He designed and built metal wind chimes, porch swings, and wooden benches. He traveled with Consuelo to Washington DC, Mexico, and Hawaii. They also bought an old farm in Hondo, TX. Gilbert raised cattle, planted hay, and built a large carport and picnic tables for family gatherings and birthday celebrations. All their children and grandchildren shared many adventures on the Hondo farm.

Once Consuelo’s health changed, Gilbert made her comfort a priority. They rejoined Christ the King Church where they had been married. They attended Saturday evening Mass together, bought tickets for fish dinners or BBQ plates, and sold raffle tickets to their children and grandchildren. When Consuelo preferred to stay home, they’d watch Mass on Catholic television. Gilbert spent the last two years of their marriage helping Carolyn, her devoted caregiver, to keep his wife happy and safe until her death in 2015. Carolyn stayed to keep an eye on Gilbert, while his son Joe and his wife Liz moved into the house so he could remain in his home.

Gilbert loved family gatherings with his brothers and watching the Cowboys or Spurs teams play on TV. He went to his grandsons’ college graduations, took his granddaughters to eat puffy tacos and cheese enchiladas, read his daughter’s published books, and taught both Carolyn and Liz how to cook crispy corn dogs and make root beer floats. He always hung the GO SPURS GO banner on his house when the team made the play-offs. His children and grandchildren gathered together for his 95th birthday in 2022. Everyone celebrated this amazing man who was cherished and respected by his family.

Although Gilbert struggled with health issues, he kept his sense of humor until the end. He will be remembered as an extraordinary son, brother, husband, father, compadre, and friend. He was Uncle Gilbert to many nephews and nieces, and Grandpa to his grandchildren and great-grandchildren. His hard work, deep love, and faith in God is a shining example of a life well-lived.

Gilbert Alex Gonzales was preceded in death by his wife of 66 years, Consuelo, his son, Michael, and great-grandson Gideon; his mother, Josephine R. Gonzales; his brothers TK, Raymond, Charlie, Joe, and Alonzo. He is survived by his sister, Mary McGinnis.

He is also survived by his son, Gilbert Jr., his wife, Marilu; son Brian, wife Ashley and their child Simon. Daughter-in-law, Cecilia Balboa, her daughter and son-in-law Micole and Daymon St. John; daughter, Christine MacRae, her son Niall, son Connery, his partner Summer Abbott, and their children, Vivienne and Jasper; daughter Diane Bertrand, her husband Nick, their son, Nicholas Gilbert, daughter and son-in-law Suzanne and Perry Stallings; son Joseph and his wife, Elizabeth; son Frank and his wife, Ana, their daughter Alexandra, daughter and son-in-law Gabriela and Emilio Silva, and child Milana; Son Vincent and his wife, Rhoda and their sons Ariel and Pablo. The family will receive friends from 6:00 to 7:00 p.m., Thursday, March 30, 2023, at Porter Loring Mortuary.

CELEBRATION OF LIFETHURSDAY, MARCH 30, 20237:00 P.M.PORTER LORING MORTUARY1101 McCULLOUGH AVENUE

FRIDAY, MARCH 31, 2023ROSARY9:30 A.M.MASS10:00 A.M.CHRIST THE KING CATHOLIC CHURCH2623 PEREZ STREET

Interment will follow in San Fernando Cemetery II. Pallbearers will be Gilbert Gonzales, Jr., Joseph J. Gonzales, Frank G. Gonzales, Vincent Gonzales, Richard Mesa, Nick C. Bertrand. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations be made to Christ the King Church, 2623 Perez Street, San Antonio, Texas 78207.