Joe Valdespino

1922 - 2016

July 18, 1922 - December 24, 2016
Joe Valdespino entered into eternal rest on Christmas Eve. Born and raised in San Antonio, Joe graduated from Brackenridge H.S. and was awarded a scholarship at Peacock Military Academy where he was an All-City football player. During WW II, he served in the Army Air Corps and flew 24 missions as a ball-turret gunner on a B-17 in the Air Offensive Europe, Normandy, and Northern France Campaigns, received the Air Medal with Three Oak Leaf Clusters and the European-African-Middle Eastern Campaign Theater Medal with Three Bronze Stars. He was offered but turned down the Purple Heart because he said he was not injured in battle, but on the way to the battlefield. He was a member of the Civil Air Patrol, American G.I. Forum and Disabled American Veterans, VFW Post 76. After serving in WWII, he attended college on the GI Bill and earned a B.A. in Spanish and a Master's in Education from Trinity University where he was a Golden Gloves Boxing Champion and played college football. Joe also played semi-pro football in the Military and for the San Antonio Wolverines. During college, he worked for Schaefer Real Estate Company. After graduating from Trinity, he began his career as an educator in the Edgewood District and later with SAISD. He coached at Rhodes Junior High, taught math at Highlands H.S. for 34 years, and worked as a real estate broker. In retirement, Joe traveled throughout the U.S. and Europe with his wife. Joe was an extremely hard-working, honest, humble, and big-hearted man, a husband of 69 years to his beautiful wife Gloria and a caring father to eleven children. He belonged to Our Lady of Sorrows Parish and devoted many hours volunteering there. He never missed an opportunity to help others; from strangers whose cars broke down on the side of the road to the people he helped find their first homes. Joe loved fishing, bowling, and building model airplanes but most of all, he loved flying airplanes. At age 18, he began flying with the Civil Air Patrol and later co-owned a plane with the Martindale Flying Club of Stinson Field. He made his last recreational flight at age 89.The pilot allowed him to take over, fly for an hour, and make a perfect landing. In his career as a teacher and as a real estate broker, many people came to admire and love him for his dedication, honesty, and integrity. To this day, if you meet his former students and clients, many of them will tell you what a difference he made in their lives and how hard he always tried to help everyone. Joe was known to say that his proudest accomplishment is the 24 degrees earned by his immediate family. He was preceded in death by his brother Henry, sister Laura, sons Joe Mark and Gregory, and grandson Vincent. He is survived by his loving wife, Gloria and their children, Robert, Vincent, Edward, Anne, Adrienne, Valerie, Martin, Lorraine, Marcus, their spouses; 20 grandchildren and 14 great-grandchildren. He will be greatly missed and always remembered. Visitation will be held on Tuesday January 3, 2017 from 5 to 9 pm with a rosary at 7 pm at Funeraria Del Angel Roy Akers Funeral Home. Mass will be celebrated on Wednesday January 4, 2017 at 10 am at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church. Interment to follow at Ft. Sam Houston National Cemetery.