Goodbye and rest peacefully - Jose Pena

Texanne,

That was beautiful -

I am glad that I knew him (though not as well as you) and as I said above, we will all miss him.

 

Jose, you will be missed by many and forgotten by none.

The link for "How the Mind Controlin Began..."

 

When I saw this thread...My heart sunk...But what a wonderful tribute....

I considered Jose a good friend, even though I only saw him a few times a year. He was always quick to say Hello, and ask how things were going. I met Jose at the CWS and saw him at many UT events. He was the ultimate Horn Fan.

Rest in Peace Jose....I can take solace in the fact that where you are, the Horns will win every game...

 

My most poignant memory of Jose is after the 1984 CWS championship game when UT had finally run out of outs and had lost to Cal St. Fulllerton 3-1 (with Augie on the other side of the diamond). The Horns had run up against an ump with a generous strike zone and a lefty who threw the game of his life. Nearly everyone had filed out of the stadium, and I looked over and saw Jose sitting in the stands, flag at his side, sobbing. I went over and sat down next to him, put my arm around him, and just sat there with him, as there really wasn't anything to say. After a while, we got up and went to the parking lot where we said our goodbyes, and I started my long drive back to Chicago, where I was in residency training at the time.

That's the way Jose was. He always wore his heart out on the end of his sleave for all to see. He was not the least bit embarrassed to cheer when all was lost, and when it finally was all lost, he was not the least bit embarrassed to bare his emotions. It's always easy to cheer the wins, and God knows he saw his share of all of the greatest football and baseball victories of the last 35 years. But it takes a special kind of person, a REAL cheerleader, to stick it out in the hard times. Jose was such a person.

I now live in Yankee country and have not seen the Horns play baseball in person since the 89 CWS. I regret not getting to see much of him and Scott Wilson and the rest of the Wild Bunch I came to love as a student in the mid-70's. Especially now that Jose is gone. I treasure my memories of him in the 70's, the 83-85 CWS, and the few times I did bump into him at football games over the last decade. Especially now that he is physically gone and beyond the sight of us mortals.

But one thing I know for sure, and that is that Jose's spirit lives on amongst and within us as long as we cherish his memory and as long as each of us strives to emulate his example of love for his Horns and love for his fellow man. And I know his spirit will be watching over the Horns from his new Skybox. I don't know about the rest of you, but from now on, if I'm ever at a Longhorn baseball game, come the middle of the 5th inning, I plan on standing up and raising my cup to the sky and and singing out, "Hey, Jose and Frank (Erwin)! It's the bottom of the 5th!"

Rudy Stefancik, M.D.
Grand Rapids, MI

MY Medical School came fully equipped with a BEACH and a nursing school to go with it!
UTMB at Galveston Class of 82

 

I know this is soooo late but I'm just now reciving word. Because I'm traveling seemingly non-stop to God knows where. I don't have access to the internet or my buds down in Austin. Jose, though I meet you a few times though my then boyfriend, you were a great dude to hang with. Great sense of humor and very outgoing. When I got the message my heart just dropped. I pray that everyone who knew him can find someway to remember you in their own special way. God bless you and your family Jose. Going to miss you and everyone at the tailgate this yr. HOOK"EM!!

Your buddy
Lee Sanchez