Hector Valenzuela Gonzalez

Born in Canutillo, TX, to his father, Juan Gonzalez, and mother, Leonor Valenzuela Gonzalez, Hector Valenzuela Gonzalez was a salt of the earth, talented man of great intellect and enthusiasm for life. He held dear the motivation to love, laugh, spread kindness, and to make the people around him feel loved, laugh, and experience kindness. Hector spent a lifetime dedicated to the service of his country, friends, strangers, and to those whom he held closest and in the highest regard, far above himself: his family. He was a man who took great pleasure in setting himself aside so that others were not without, and he sacrificed for family, friend, and stranger alike as though it were a moral obligation. He did so with zeal and vigor, making it so that many benefitted from his numerous accomplishments.

Those accomplishments included, but were not limited to, first, graduating as valedictorian of his class from Canutillo High School, before then enlisting in the United States Navy, where he would become a nuclear engineer. He closed out his honorable service as an NCO. Following his admirable career as a nuclear submariner, he continued his education at The University of Texas at Austin, eventually obtaining a PhD in Electrical Engineering. This career would continue to send him places abroad where he occupied highly sought-after positions in notable corporations such as GE, Westinghouse, CAT, and, as if that weren’t impressive enough, a leading role at an institution many have endeavored to be a part of—yet a dream so few will have realized—NASA. What an incredible achievement, to ambitiously shoot for the stars and hit the target every time.

However phenomenal those achievements were, in his eyes, they paled in comparison to what he was most proud of: his beautiful wife, Rossi, and their 5 incredible children, who were the brightest stars in his sky. He is survived by those stars, all of whom still shine bright and some who have had little stars of their own. A father to 4 wonderful girls and 1 boy, father-in-law to 2 incredibly lucky men, and to what was the purest thing in his life, being a grandfather to 10 children who he saw, collectively, as the cornerstone of his existence. In the order of birth date, they are:

Yvette Marie Gonzalez

Brandy Yvonne Gonzalez, wife to Andrés Arias

Tiffany Joyce Colón, wife to Jonathan Matthew Colón and mother to:

•Jianna Tioni

•Jubilee Saria

•Charlotte Grace

•Jack Matthias

•Thaddaeus Ryker

Misty Rose Gonzalez, mother to:

•Keith Nathaniel

•Olivia Ann

•Dorian Lewis

Sean Luc Gonzalez, his only beloved son, father to:

•Scarlett Rose

•Ian Trenton

Hector Valenzuela Gonzalez, who would go on to live in El Paso, TX, until the age of 69, is now at rest, concluding his life of service but leaving behind so much love and joy that many people will feel for years to come, thanks in part to him.

Thank you, Hector—son, brother, husband, father, father-in-law, and grandfather—for sheltering us all from the storms life brings and for the joy, laughter, and love that you gave so freely until your final breath. A day we will keep in our hearts as the day we lost a giant: April 21, 2026.