Goodbye and rest peacefully - Jose Pena

This may be the most difficult post I've ever written. Earlier this afternoon, Jose was taken off the ventilator and quietly passed into God's hands 30-40 minutes later. I'm sure with all my soul that God was waiting for him with open arms. Unfortunately, that doesn't assauge the intense grief that I feel. Truly, the Longhorn community and EVERY community that Jose ever became related to has suffered an inestimable loss.

Jose embodied the ideals that we all wish for. He lived his life to the fullest and always had kind words and a helping hand for ANYBODY that needed them.

We don't know when or where the services are yet, but we will post the information when we know as long as Jose's family is comfortable with us doing so.

I would ask that this thread become a testament of who Jose was and how Jose will live with us always in our hearts and in our memories. Please post your stories and memories of Jose below for those that may not be able to make the services and so that all of us can add to our own stories and memories.

While this is truly a sad day and I am filled with grief, I thank God with all my heart for the 20 years that I was associated with Jose and experienced his incredibly joyous life.

God be with you always Jose and give you eternal peace.

We will miss you always.

 

I really didn't know Jose other than meeting him at a few tailgates. I do know the Longhorn family has lost a great friend and fan. I would like to extend my sympathies to all of his family and friends during this period of grief.

 

i never knew him, but You all talk so highly of him. He must be in a better place now. GOD BLESS AND HOOKEM HORNS

 

I agree w/ orangeblood- Jose was everything you could hope to have in a person- both as a human being and as a Longhorn.

My favorite stories of Jose are from his time with the wild bunch and his annual after- OU party at his house. The guy knew how to throw a party that even Oakies would show up to.

Jose, I know right now your are in a better place and you are no longer in pain. God bless, we'll miss you.

 

Rest in peace and god bless you Jose......

You were a great man!

Gig'em Jose!

 

Into your hands we commend his spirit Oh Lord
And let perpetual light shine upon him.
May the souls of the faithful departed-through the mercy of God--Rest in peace....Amen

 

I met Jose when he became a cheerleader in 1969 and rode in to the football games on my father's car. He was the most enthusiatic cheerleader I remember, and he loved the Horns like noone else. At the epic '69 Texas-Arkansas game, during the heat of the battle, the cheerleaders were doing their best to encourage the small but vocal number of UT fans in attendance. Jose's cheerleading partner, I forget her name, threw a wicked Hook 'Em Horns hand skyward, but it caught Jose flush on the chin, and knocked him cold. He recovered soon thereafter, and cheered on the team the to the national championship. Jose and his many friends would always laugh about this incident.
Jose didn't talk much about his faith to me, but he always observed Lent by giving up something that mattered to him, something hard to avoid the temptation. He will be watching the games from the best seat in the house now, waving the flag whenever UT scores.
Like many, I remember the OU parties, and what great fun they were. We parked Dad's car in his front yard, and often slept on the floor or couch along with the couple dozen other late partiers. In later years, we slept in the guest room, which was totally taken over by Jose's T-shirt collection. He bought souvenir shirts at all the events he attended-Final Fours, tennis, college, pro, baseball, and of course Omaha world series for many years.
At Omaha, Jose showed up with hundreds of small Texas flag stickers to give to fans to put on their baseball hats, and small Texas flags to wave. He never asked for payment for these flags.
He was an ambassador of the Texas flag wherever he went. There were places that did not want flag poles in the stadium, and Jose invented creative ways to sneak his everpresent flag in anyway, including a combination walking cane-flagpole. He developed quite a limp on occasions.
Ms. Cacti and I feel like a part of Jose's family, after sitting by his sister Susan and her husband Doug at baseball, watching their kids grow up, and being invited to his mom's house several times for great home cooking. The best OU parties were several years ago, when brother Rick acted as DJ, playing great dance music.
My mom, dad, cousin Mike, all feel Jose is a part of our family as well. My first date with Ms. Cacti was to OU weekend, and our first kiss was at Jose's party.
Everybody liked to affectionately call Jose "the little Mexican," but he is the biggest Texan I know. We love him and miss him.
David Stekoll

Fish gotta swim. Birds gotta fly. Man got to sit and wonder why, why, why.

 

It was clear how special a person Jose was when I had the pleasure of meeting him at the cheerleader reunion game, where he went out of his way to share his time, leadership skills, and reminiscences. While not having known him well, I admired his caring personality and genuine smile, and his obviously deep spirit and love for Texas. God Bless Jose and his family.

May his flag wave and his spirit live forever.

 

There were several years in a row that Jose and I played tennis once a week together at Fair Oaks Tennis Center. Jose was a very good tennis player, and we would just play to practice. I never saw him in a bad mood, and he never got mad when he played. HOWEVER, do not let that be confused with him not being a tough competitor. He was relentless, with some of the most accurate groundstrokes around. Hit it to his two-handed backhand only if you wanted it to come right back.
I live in Austin now, but last time I was in Dallas we played.

His OU party rocked, and intend to lift a few skyward to him this year.

Jose, thanks for sharing Longhorns, tennis, and friendship.

Hook 'em Jose.

Your friend Mark.

 

I've been off the boards for the most part for the last few months. Was Jose from Austin, Travis HS to be exact?

"Show up at the start, play smart, be intense and no damned excuses!"

 

God bless you Jose, your family and loved ones. Go in peace.
OLT

 

It is a truly sad day in Texas. I did not have the pleasure of meeting Jose. But over these past couple of weeks, I have read numerous post about him. Whether it was his generosity, his caring nature, or his great spirit, he obviously touched so many people's lives. Jose, you will be missed.

 

Jose,

I still haven't paid you for the Kansas ticket from last year.

If there was anyone who embodied the spirit and tradition of what we proudly call The University, it was Jose Pena.

While he was blessed to enjoy the best days of UT football (so far) as head cheerleader in the late 60's and early 70's (during the 30-game win streak and two national championships), he endured some of the worst, too, never wavering on his commitment to The University of Texas.

To me, that is the highest compliment a Horn can be given, and defines a true fan.

Scorched in my mind while I type this is the honor bestowed upon me in Hawaii in 1995. Jose had to go to a wedding in Houston that day, so of course with him being a true Texas fan, he flew to Hawaii and left during the third quarter to honor his commitment to his friends in Houston. After waving his Lone Star flag during Ricky Williams' inaugural game, he entrusted me with it as he left. I had the honor of waving it during our 38-11 victory, and hoisting it aloft a few thousand miles from Texas during the acapella post-game rendition of The Eyes of Texas.

For that I will always be honored.

But let's not forget baseball. I don't know how many years it has been since Jose has missed the College World Series in Omaha (I've heard 17 or so), but he rarely missed a UT baseball game. Peeling oranges or proclaiming a witty remark, Jose was a pillar of the Wild Bunch. When I was a freshman at UT in 1992, I quickly found there were two fans who were true Texas: Jose Pena and Scott Wilson. It never failed that they were there. They were there, period.

Who could forget his faith in America's Team? I've never been much of a professional sports fan, but I would imagine that if Jerry Jones (oh Arksaw pig) were to single out one fan who was Cowboy Blue, it would be Jose.

The honor I feel to have known people such as Jose Pena is indescribible. I feel part of Longhorn history having known people like him.

This next football season holds great promise, and I'm sure Jose would have taken great pleasure in each victory. But his loyalty in defeat was unshakable. And for that, I propose that every single true Longhorn fan who has tasted the great highs and sorrowful lows of our past -- who have been to places like Ames, Iowa, and Hawaii -- to dedicate this season to Jose Pena.

But let's remember that on the grand scale our earthly accomplishments pale in comparison to being a geniunely kind and compassionate person. And I have no doubt that Jose Pena fit that to a "T."

Southwestern Bell has never had an employee as dedicated. And I doubt I've known many smarter people than Jose.

Always a smile, always a laugh, always, the Hook 'em Horns held high.

"The Eyes of Texas are Upon You, Jose, You Cannot Get Away."

 

The Krizak family expresses its sincere and heartfelt condolences.

I met Jose in 1981 and, like everyone, instantly found both a friend and a true Longhorn. When I desperately needed a place to stay in Omaha in 1984 (traveling up for the Longhorns' last two games in that College World Series), Jose and Scott Wilson were there for me. So many times in the past 20 years, Jose has been a particularly friendly face in a sea of friendly faces.

He will be missed. Vaya con dios.

————

 

I have tears in my eyes as I type this. Jose Pena was a wonderful person. I first met him on a bus trip to a football game in 1993 and saw him now and again for the next few years. Every time I saw Jose he made me feel like I was his best friend. What a terrific guy. I had not seen him for four or five years and I didn't know him nearly as well as alot of you, but I know we all share the same feelings of sorrow.

I read on the initial Jose post that he was an honors graduate in Electrical Engineering. About the only thing we really talked about were the Longhorns. Had I known what his profession was I would have had a whole new topic to talk about with him. My father and five or six other men started the Electrical Engineering Dept at UT Arlington. And I suspect that Jose may have taken a class or two from my Dad's closest friend, Dr. Duesterhoeft, who taught at UT for about 40 years.

Jose, God bless you and rest in peace. We will miss you greatly.

 

I've know Jose over 20 years. We've been on God-knows-how-many road trips for baseball and football, and the famous '86 tour of the midwest. Jose was a loyal friend and a loyal fan. I have too much sorrow and tears right now, blocking my view of the memories....... He would really be mad at me for missing the Express game tonight because of him. Sorry little buddy, God bless you.

 

I'm not sure when or if I'll be able to put into words the part Jose has played in my life for the last 20+ years. It may take some time for me to get there.

I did want to share with everyone that Jose went peacefully and in no pain. He was surrounded by his family and many of his dear friends. We prayed with the priest who blessed him and sang the "Eyes of Texas." Actually, I don't know if any of us were able to sing too many words at that point.
Everyone was touching Jose as he left us and we told him over and over how much we loved him. At one point Jose's sister asked, " What time is it?" and everyone responded, "It's 1:20 and OU still Sucks!" The ICU nurses weren't sure if we were saying goodby or sending him off with a pep rally.

Letting go of Jose today was one of the hardest things I've ever had to do, and I'm not sure if I've totally let him go yet. He fought the good fight and is now in a much better place with his mother, Rose, brother,George and sister Stella. We weren't sure if Rose would greet him with a kick in the @#$% for letting himself get so sick or be giving him a big hug telling him he was finally home. If you knew Rose - probably both . . . in that order.

Please, please, please keep Jose's sister and brother, Susan and Ricky and their families in your prayers as well as Chris and Lisa, Stella's children. They have suffered a lot of loss in a very short period of time.



UTOrange - Jose was the 1968 Valedictorian of Travis High School.

 

Tribute to Jose
by Jean A. Cox

A void will exist at Disch-Falk Field
And how we'll miss Jose;
His smile, his laugh, his funny wit
Somehow made everyone's day.

He loved the Horns, a true orangeblood
Cheered them through losses and fame;
A loyal fan, an example to all
He showed real love for the game.

Now he'll be leading cheers from above
His Texas flag held high,
And he'll look down on Section 2
From that ballpark in the sky.

We'll miss you Jose.

 

I met Jose at one of the many A&M-Tx baseball series over the past few years. I was always at A&M games during the Fall, so I never saw him during football season, but every Spring, when I headed to Austin for our one game or two with Tx that year, Jose was always there, and so was his Texas flag.
Being an Aggie, I always took my fair share of jokes and barbs on my trips to Austin (all in good fun), but I never heard anything from Jose. He was just always there, always smiling, always happy to be with friends, supporting his beloved Horns.

Jose, I will miss your smile, your friendship, and your infectious laugh.

Gig'em and God Bless.
tearemup

 

I don't know Jose as well as most of you, but I will never forget him. My dad had tickets with The Wild Bunch when I was a kid and took my brother and I to all of the weekend games. Our seats were two rows behind Jose's. By the time I was in high school, my Dad had remarried, moved and given up his tickets. I still went to all the games and since then have attended UT and will graduate soon. I still feel at home standing behind Section 2 at the home games. Jose was my favorite Longhorn fan when I was a kid, because of his constant enthusiasm and love for the Horns. That sticks with me to this day. Section 2 will not be the same without him and he will be sorely missed. I remember one game in particular when we played Michigan on ESPN. It was about 30 degrees and Jim Abbot was pitching for Michigan. There were about 50 people left in the stands and my dad was ready to leave. My brother and I were determined to stay because Jose was still waving his Texas flag and cheering as loud as ever. To this day, I am always the last one of my friends to leave a game, no matter what the score is. I stayed for the entire UCLA disaster and the OU debacle last year, as I'm sure many of you did. Somewhere inside of me, there is a little bit of Jose. I think he left a little bit of himself in all of us. This may not be well written, but I'm a little choked up. We'll miss ya, buddy. Hook'em.

 

Wow. If any of us are so lucky in our lives, we can touch people the way Jose has so many of you/us. It is something to try for each and every day. I cannot think of a higher form of praise and respect than what is being offered in Jose's memory on this thread. It seems to me that he will live on forever through our words and memories not to mention the way he seemed to have touched/changed lives.

My season is dedicated to a man that although I never got to formally meet I feel I know so well. Hook 'em Jose.

 

I will never forget Jose's ever-present smile. He always had a smile and a funny or kind word every time I saw him. They don't get any better than Jose. I will miss him.

 

I never had the pleasure of meeting Jose. My loss, undoubtedly. I would like to offer my condolences to his family.

 

My prayers go out to his family.

For those of you who never met him, you missed someone pretty damn special.

 

God, where to begin? I feel as though a part of me has died, and I guess it has. Jose was as much a part of me as I was of him. That's the way it was when he was your friend. And you always felt better about yourself for him being your friend. Most of my close friends today are people that I met through Jose.

My association with Jose actually started 12 years before I ever met him. He was a cheerleader at Texas in 1969 and I was in the 7th grade. My family had season tickets and we went to every game. I always enjoyed watching the cheerleaders, and "that little one" was always my favorite. He was always so enthusiastic and even when things didn't look good for the Horns, he never gave up. He embodied the spirit of Texas Fight like no one else I've ever known.

Cacti, I remember when he got knocked out at Arkansas. I kept asking my dad (a doctor) to go down there and help him. Thankfully, he recovered and dad didn't have to try to talk his way onto the sidelines.

I actually met Jose in 1981 at the College World Series. We were getting our brains beaten out unmercifully by Arizona State in an elimination game and there were two people who kept hollering for the Horns throughout the massacre: Jose and me. After the game, he came over to me and said, "Who are you?" He told me that I needed to stop sitting on the third base side at Disch-Falk and come sit with the Wild Bunch.

I've been there ever since.

I traveled many a mile with The Rat. I started calling him that about 1983 when he showed up with the most horrible armadillo hat that looked like a giant rat sitting atop his head. He wore it until the weather got too hot too for it. We called it the "Rat Hat" and the name eventually somehow got attached to Jose himself.

I lived at home with my folks at that time (you try renting an apartment in the DFW metroplex on wages of $200 a month!) and I traveled to Austin for games every weekend with Jose. We had our usual bathroom and hamburger stops and probably put down a 12-pack at least every trip. We really needed those bathroom stops!

I remember in 1983, about a week after my mother died, my phone rang and Jose said, "Do you want to get out of town?" My answer was, "God, yes, my father is driving me crazy!"

Jose told me to pack a bag for three or four nights, including warm weather and cold weather clothes, and meet him at his house at 8 p.m. He wouldn't tell me what was going on, but I had a hunch.

We got something to eat, then drove to Corsicana, where we parked in front of the Navarro County Courthouse. He finally told me that we were waiting for Scott Wilson to come pick us up in a Winnebago and that we were going to the Texas-Arkansas series in Little Rock.

The Winnebago finally pulled up at midnight (just two hours late!) and lo and behold! Scott Wilson, Denny Roberts, Eddie Burrows (father of the Texas third baseman Bryan), Bob Morgan and Jerry Jones, former Longhorn rightfielder who always seemed to get a clutch hit, were all along on the trip. The motor home belonged to Jerry's boss.

We went to Arkansas by way of Mississippi to oick up Jerry's mom, and had some real fun when we stopped in Ruston, Lousiana, and paid a midnight visit to the baseball field at La. Tech. (See photos on Scott Wilson's wall for more details.)

I shared a hotel room in Arkansas with Jose and Denny. Being female, I had a bed to myself, and the guys had to share. Jose had a broken finger at the time, and late one night in the hotel, Denny rolled over on it and Jose squealed in his sleep. We laughed about that for years!

I can't remember how many times I stayed overnight at Casa Pena in Austin. His mother reminded me so much of my own mama. Both liked nothing better than having a house full of enthusiastic young people, getting up in the morning and cooking a great big breakfast for everyone. The first time I ever ate chorizo was at Jose's mom's house. Scrambled eggs, chorizo and tortillas. Every bit as good as the pancakes, biscuits, eggs and bacon that my mama would make for my friends that I would bring home.

Jose and Brazos Bevo came to Temple one time to watch me perform in the chorus and dancing cast of our local production of "The Music Man." Then, they stayed up really late and watched my video of the musical I did the year before. That's true friendship!

I keep thinking about how Shadowdancer and I enjoyed watching Jose wave the flag at baseball games. Sometimes we'd grasp the corner of the flag in mid-wave just for fun. Jose was Mexican and American, but more than anything else, he was a Texan, and so very proud to be a Longhorn.

I know that every time we see the brilliant orange Texas sunset, we'll know that Jose is smiling down on us and cheering for his Longhorns.

And he's waiting to see all of us by and by.

And those who know your name will put their trust in you; for you, Lord, have not forsaken those who seek You.
Psalm 9:10

Goodbye, my dear, dear friend.

 

As a more recent comer to UT baseball, I have enjoyed Jose tremendously. He has always been upbeat, fun, enthusiastic. His zeal for life and for UT baseball was very evident. He will be remembered fondly.

 

Best wishes to his family and friends here.

 

I wish I could have met Jose.It is obvious he was a terrific person.One of those rare people who truly make the world a better place,and enrich the lives of those around them.My thoughts and prayers go out to his family and to his many friend.

 

Texanne - Remember our 1982 CWS road trip with the rat? We did have some great adventures!

My association with Jose also began when he was a cheerleader. Growing up close to A&M, we would attend the UT sporting events when they were in College Station. At the A&M basketball game in 1972, the aggies would not let the UT cheerleaders on the court so they came up in the stands and spead out on the aisles by the few UT fans that were there. I was sitting by the aisle and this goofy cheerleader in a really bad orange felt hat sat by me and gave me a cow bell to ring. I was in heaven! A real UT cheerleader was talking to me and gave me a cow bell to ring! As a future UT student who was planning on being a UT cheerleader it was the thrill of my life.

When I met Jose in 1981, I had no idea he was the cheerleader that made me feel so important at that basketball game years before. One day looking at pictures from his cheerleading days at his mom's house, it hit me that he was the cheerleader at the A&M game. He remembered the game and some hyper junior high kid that rang the daylights out of a cow bell. Sometimes it's really a small world!

 

Jose, I'm really going to miss you. I enjoyed our times together at the tailgates. God bless you and may you rest in peace.

Hook'em