Lorenzo Gonzalez

Growing up near downtown on the Westside of San Antonio in the early 1960s, Lorenzo (Larry) Gonzalez’s teachers recognized Larry’s innate intellectual curiosity and academic potential and recommended that he be transferred from Lanier High School to Thomas Jefferson High School, which at the time was recognized as a college preparatory high school.

After graduating from Jefferson in 1966, while attending San Antonio Community College and working, Larry met a beautiful young woman who would become the love of his life, Rachel Licea.

In 1969, like his World War II veteran father had done before him, Larry joined the U.S. Navy to serve our country. During his three combat tours in Viet Nam, Larry’s Navy river boat saw much action while transporting needed ammunition and supplies through the dangerous rivers and tributaries of the Mekong Delta. While doing his duty for our country, Larry was exposed to Agent Orange many times, a fact which would later present Larry with one of the greatest challenges and opportunities of his life.

Larry returned to San Antonio and in 1974 married Rachel and started their family. With Rachel taking over the financial responsibilities for the family at various times, Larry was able to enroll at St. Mary’s University where he received an Electrical Engineering Degree in 1979. Larry used his engineering and computer expertise to help ATT with many cutting edge technology issues at the very beginning of the internet age.

In 2005, after having an onset of mysterious symptoms, Larry was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease. Larry said “I started thinking about all of the chemicals I was exposed to in Vietnam and if my exposure to Agent Orange had anything to do with it.” Larry began reaching out to other Vietnam Veterans who had been exposed to Agent Orange and had later been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and then started pouring over mountains and mountains of research. Eventually, Larry found what he believed was a consistent temporal relationship between exposure to Agent Orange and onset of Parkinson’s unique symptoms caused by mutation of the body’s cells. Armed with those findings, Larry, along with a hand full of other veterans co-founded the nonprofit United States Military Veterans with Parkinson’s (USMVP). In 2008 Larry presented his research findings at a meeting of the Institute of Medicine and in 2009, based on Larry’s findings, the Institute of Medicine recommended the Department of Veterans Affairs add Parkinson’s to the Agent Orange presumptive list of service-connected diseases. As a direct result of Larry and the other co-founders of USMVP’s research and work, literally thousands of fellow Vietnam era veterans afflicted with Parkinson’s disease received the much needed relief of previously denied VA benefits.

Even while battling the symptoms of Parkinson’s disease and later cancer, Larry’s commitment to his family never wavered. Larry volunteered to become the guardian for his Mother, Consuelo and his Uncle Guillermo spending years making sure they were taken care of with love and dignity and never wanted for anything.

Even though Larry’s Parkinson’s research, his leadership at USMVP, and the innumerable hours he spent counseling veterans and helping them apply for VA benefits touched thousands of lives, perhaps Larry’s greatest masterpiece was his 43 yearlong marriage to the love of his life Rachel and their three children, Alejandro (Alec), Marisa and Emilio. Their constant love and support fueled Larry through the debilitating symptoms of Parkinson’s and later his battle with cancer and filled his heart with joy and pride. The unconditional, gentle and kind legacy of Larry’s love for Rachel, Alec, Marisa and Emilio and the rest of Larry’s extended family will burn bright in the hearts of the Gonzalez family for all time.

Larry, who was born on January 28, 1948 and passed away on October 10, 2017 joins his father, Valentin Gonzalez and his grandparents, Crisanta and Inocencio Aranda and paternal grandfather Enemencio Gonzalez in heaven. Larry is survived by his wife Rachel; son Alejandro (Michelle) Gonzalez, their son Jordan Escamilla; daughter Marisa Gonzalez; son Emilio Gonzalez; his mother Consuelo Gonzalez; his brothers David (Sherri) Gonzalez; Gabriel Gonzalez, his sisters Gloria Merritt; Margarita (Rick) Hernandez; and Trisha Gonzalez and his uncle Guillermo Aranda.

Rachel, Alejandro, Marisa and Emilio, Larry’s extended family, along with his ACTS brothers and sisters from St. Paul’s Catholic Church, his many friends and the thousands who were touched by Larry’s works will truly miss this gentle, kind and determined San Antonio hero.

https://issuu.com/stmarysu/docs/gold_blue_spring2014-issuu/29?e=3727083/7001617

ROSARY

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2017

7:00 PM

ANGELUS FUNERAL HOME

FUNERAL MASS

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2017

11:00 AM
ST. PAUL CATHOLIC CHURCH

GRAVESIDE SERVICES

WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 18, 2017

1:15 PM
FORT SAM HOUSTON NATIONAL CEMETERY

In lieu of flowers, please donate to the Michael J. Fox Parkinson’s Foundation