Juan Roberto Sandoval Obituary

Juan Roberto Sandoval attended Psja Early College High School in San Juan, TX. View the obituary, post a memory, or share a photo about Juan Roberto Sandoval.

Graduation Year	Class of 1971
Date of Passing	Oct 19, 2015
About	US ARMY JUN 71-JUN 73 UTPA BBA 78 Juan Roberto Sandoval – My Brother -An Old Fashioned Romantic Soul- • Juan showed me how he loved his parents dearly o He continuously demonstrated this love in as many ways as he could o By his actions, he showed this love, as often as he could • Juan had the utmost respect for all of the “Old Folks” o He could easily speak their language and they all appreciated him for it o For example, If you had heard him conversing with my Father-In-Law on any of the several times they met, you would have thought they were of the same age; and that they had know each other all of their lives! • Juan was a hard field laborer and a natural-born field trucker o We were all hand-picking crops at a very early age; and continued to do so as migrants on and off until the day we graduated from college o Juan knew how to drive the old Trucks of our youth and he knew how to keep them running o He loved the Black Ford Truck with the Red interior o He loved loading up the truck with cantaloupes or watermelons and heading for the packing shed o He loved to repeat the load/unload cycle as many times as possible o After exiting the Army in August 1973, I went to ask about Juan who had exited before me in June ? I was told, He went to work the cantaloupe crop in Pecos; just as he had done all the years prior to the Army! • Juan could be funny and he loved to repeat funny stories o He was mature at a very early age and one could easily believe that Juan had never been a kid o In our younger years, he would make us laugh just because he dressed and groomed like an adult – when other youngsters were wearing jeans, Juan was already wearing adult kakis o One of his favorite stories was of a young cousin of his who was asked by an uncle if he was ready to begin school ? The child had responded that he could not go to school because he didn’t even know how to count ? After having a hearty laugh at the child’s serious no-non-sense response, Juan would try to explain to him that this was exactly the reason he was going to go to school! ? Once I asked Juan what his puppy’s name was • He said “His name is Richard Nixon, but he will answer to Mr. President!” • Juan was the best mechanic we all wish we could find any time we have car troubles o He and my older brother began helping out at his Tio Alfredo’s Main Street Texaco when they were still kids o Juan could properly diagnose a car’s problems using his hands, eyes, and ears long before diagnostic machines were ever designed o Juan could replace a radiator, a starter, an alternator, a cracked manifold, a cracked cylinder head, or the worst nightmare - a timing belt; o If need be Juan could overhaul an engine and have it purring in short order o Juan, could fix a pick-up truck, or a deuce and a half truck with which our parents used to make their living, just as well as he could fix a car • Juan was a good Soldier o He was drafted into the U.S. Army in June 1971 and I joined the Army in Aug 1971 o After Basic Training, he and I ran into each other at Ft Sam Houston in San Antonio o We took Advanced Infantry Training and Field Medic Training there for about 12 weeks o On weekends when we did not have Post Duty, we would dress in our Army dress uniform and hitch-hike to go see our respective girlfriend o We would hitch-hike 250 miles on Friday evening and 250 miles back on Sunday afternoon o Juan and I knew these two girls were worth all the fuss; a few years later, we each married the girl we had been going to see during those hitch-hiking weekends at Ft Sam Houston o After Ft Sam Houston, Juan went to Germany and I went to Ft Ord, Ca o When on leave I went to visit his parents and asked them how Juan was doing in Germany ? His Mom said, “Juan is doing OK – there is not one letter that we get from him, when he doesn’t talk about his Jeep!” o Juan and I appreciated the Army life – we both considered making a career of it; but in the end we finished our tour and came back home • Juan was a very smart person o If it were not for the fact that we were migrants, as well as the fact that we had to deal with the peer pressure inherent to our culture, we could have done much better than we did in elementary, middle, and high school o Because we had the GI bill after the Army, We both began attending UTPA o Juan liked math, so he declared himself a Math major o After completing basic core classes, he had some trouble enrolling in some Math courses he needed; ? Right then and there he switched to an Accounting major because that was my major ? I was always telling him how much fun Accounting was compared to Math! o Juan quickly picked up the core Accounting principles and understood what he was getting into o One problem haunted him; he was forced to drop the English Literature class several times, because no one would help him figure out how to write the required research paper o After all I owed him for his loyalty as a friend and for keeping my old car running, it was my turn to help him ? I coached him on reading a particular book, researching a related theme, taking appropriate notes, and then converting these to a comprehensive summary that the professor would enjoy reading ? Together we worked on it until Juan was able to get it done; and he passed his English Lit class! • Juan persevered against BIG odds o When we graduated UTPA, we each had two choices 1. Do what the majority did; find a job close to home, or 2. Explore bigger opportunities outside the Rio Grande Valley o I graduated in August 1977 and joined John Deere Co in Moline, Il; Juan graduated from UTPA a year after I did, and he re-located the family to Dallas, after accepting a job with Mobile Oil Co o As some of us were choosing to leave to pursue bigger opportunities and to search for a better life for us and for our growing families, you could hear the Rio Grande Valley Culture, relatives and friends alike, whispering ? “Who do they think they are?” ? “They will miss home” ? “They can’t raise their family by themselves” ? “They don’t know what it will take to make it in that tough strange world of corporate America” ? “They will find out that it isn’t easy” ? “They won’t be gone long” ? “They will be back” o Over the early years, Imelda & I would stop and visit Juan & Frances ? We would compare notes on our progress ? We were definitely moving forward ? We were committed to making it work ? We were committed to succeeding with our chosen companies ? We were committed to proving “them” wrong ? After a few years we were confident that the former “migrants” were going to make it! ? Was it easy? • no • But we did make it! ? After 20+ years, Juan voluntarily chose to retire when Mobile merged with Exxon • I voluntarily retired after 32 years with John Deere Co • Juan was an old fashioned romantic soul o He loved conjunto music o He loved mariachi music o He loved “corridos de caballos” (Horse Ballads) o He loved old Charro western movies o He loved old Mexican Revolution Movies o He loved to sing and he loved to dance o He loved to marinate and grill steaks o He loved to work hard o He loved Family o He loved Friends o He loved LIFE Juan, my brother, I will miss you for the rest of my life, May our good and gracious God grant you eternal rest in His heavenly kingdom! Jose Gilberto Peña -- 20 October 2015