Roll Call Tribute

Jose Luis DeLaFuente 

September 18, 1937 - January 27, 2025 

Jose Luis de la Fuente was born in Eagle Pass, Texas on September 18, 1937. He died on January 27, 2025 in Austin, Texas. In between, his life took him from his family’s home on a fighting bull ranch in Mexico to a career in the oil patch, raising a family in Houston, the adventure of a lifetime living in Buenos Aires with the love of his life, his wife Pam, and finally to a happy retirement in Houston and then Austin. He was a good and kind man.

Life on the border when Jose Luis was a child wasn’t always easy. He was often separated from his parents, Jose and Sarah, so that he could go to better schools than what their small hometown on the Pan American highway had to offer. Still, he was always surrounded by family who loved and supported him. In high school in Eagle Pass, he played football and lived an all-American life. But like many young men his age on the border, he didn’t have much of an eye toward what would come next. Fortunately, one of his teachers did; he would take busloads of students on road trips to his alma mater, Texas A&M University, and tell them: “You know, you could go to college here.” And many of them did, including Jose. Jose’s Petroleum Engineering degree from Texas A&M in 1961 opened a world of opportunity for him and paved the way for a wonderful life. Teachers matter.

But Jose’s story cannot be told - not even a little bit - without telling the story of his wife, Pam. The best things in this world are love stories - the real love stories, stories of a love that is tied to your very being. Theirs was that kind of love. Jose started his career in the oil patch in the Rio Grande Valley, living a pretty carefree life. But there was a dark-haired beauty in town who caught his eye; “I’d love to meet her someday.” And meet her he did, as luck would have it. From that moment, his future was sealed - he would love and adore Pam for the rest of his days. Pam’s life had not been easy, either, and she dreamed of one day meeting a man who was good and kind, who would love her deeply, and who could perhaps provide the kind of life she had only dreamed of: a home, a family, security, and unconditional love. Six weeks after they met in the summer of 1966, with Pam knowing that she had met the man she had dared to dream of, they were married in a wedding hastily and happily thrown together; a marriage license issued after-hours, rings from the family friend jeweler’s sample case, and a cake made by the chef at Las Palmas in McAllen, where Pam’s mother was the bookkeeper.

In the years to come, Jose’s work took him to Houston, where he and Pam had their son, Jose Eduardo. A young couple who didn’t have much but each other and the son they had dreamed of would sit in their apartment and marvel over the richness of their lives, telling each other: “Somos millionarios” - “We are millionaires.” A few years later, when they bought their first home, they had everything that Pam had ever hoped for, and that made Jose so very happy. They raised their son in that home, and it was always a welcoming sanctuary for family, friends, and anyone in need. Whatever Jose and Pam had, they would share and give freely, offering kindness and generosity to friends and strangers alike.

Jose and Pam lived in Houston for 25 years, until Jose’s work gave them the opportunity to move to Buenos Aires. They lived there for several years, having a grand adventure and making many new friends. To his final moments, Jose was so happy that he had been able to provide that experience for the two of them.

After their time in Argentina, Jose and Pam returned to Texas, spending more time in Houston, interspersed with wonderful sojourns at their beach house in Surfside Beach. Jose loved hunting and fishing, and he passed these passions on to his son. They spent many, many days together fishing in the Texas surf, feeling the rhythm of the waves, and breathing the salty air. Sometimes, they even caught fish. His love of the outdoors was then passed on to his grandchildren; Anna never passes up the opportunity to go fishing, and Thomas still hunts with the rifle handed down from his grandfather.

Eventually, Jose and Pam moved to Austin to be close to their son and his family. They were able to spend time with Jose Eduardo and their daughter-in-law, Sarah. And they were able to see their grandchildren, Anna and Thomas, grow into young adults and launch themselves into the world and across the Atlantic, buoyed by their grandparents’ love, support, and their introduction to international travel. Jose was so very proud of both of them. Jose also developed a relationship that was a gift; Pam had a son, Chris Mercil, who she had given up for adoption in Minnesota long ago. When Chris and his wife Heidi, and their children Bennett, Mandy, and Frannie returned to her life, they came into Jose Luis’s life as well. And he welcomed and loved them as family because that’s what they are - family.

Jose Luis mourned the loss of his beloved wife Pam in 2021. He loved and cared for her to the very end, with kindness, gentleness, and a love that knew no bounds. There was not a day that went by since then that his heart was truly whole; she would always be that missing piece. He lived for his beloved grandchildren and his many family members and friends, but he always missed the love of his life. We have to believe that they are together again, because love never dies.

Jose Luis was preceded in death by his mother Sarah and father Jose. He is survived by his son Jose Eduardo and his wife Sarah, and their children Anna and Thomas, Pam’s son Chris and his wife Heidi, and their children Bennett, Mandy, and Frannie, as well as family and friends down the street, across Texas, across borders, and across oceans.

A celebration of Jose Luis’s life will be held at 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, March 2, 2025, at First Presbyterian Church of Austin, 8001 Mesa Drive, Austin, TX. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that memorial contributions be made to the MD Anderson Cancer Center at https://www.mdanderson.org/donors-volunteers/donate.html; Jose was so grateful to MD Anderson for providing him the gift of more time with Pam after her cancer diagnosis.

Jose Luis’s ashes will join Pam’s, and together they will be cast into the same, timeless waves of the Texas coast where he fished with his son, and where he and Pam created great memories.

Jose Luis leaves behind so many threads of love, family, and friendship. All who knew him can truly say “somos millionarios.”