RENE GONZALES

Rene Gonzales passed away on September 30, 2014 at St. Mary's Hospital in Tucson. Rene was born in Douglas on January 19, 1951 to Luciano and Manuela "Nellie" Gonzalez. He is survived by his wife, Sylvia Gonzales; sons, Emiliano Rene Gonzales, Adrian Gonzales and his daughter, Karina Herrera (Joseph), along with five grandchildren. He is also survived by two brothers, Luciano (Martha) Gonzalez Jr. and Rafael (Maria Luisa) Gonzalez, and several nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Luciano and Nellie Gonzalez; brother, Arturo Gonzalez; and granddaughter, Sophie Madeline Herrera. Rene attended Loretto Catholic School and was a DHS graduate, Class of 1969. He joined the Navy Reserve while still in high school at the age of 17. In his teenage years he was a founding member of the "Caballeros Club," a local service group that to this day is committed to family, community and to each other. After DHS, he attended Cochise College and was president of MECHA. At the age of 19, he married Sylvia Ciochetti, of Douglas, and proceeded to attend the University of Arizona. Rene was active with the Chicano movement at the UofA and both he and Sylvia marched with Cesar Chavez in 1972. As part of a freeway renovation, Rene fought to preserve historic downtown homes in Tucson, to include "El Tiradito," a shrine that still remains in downtown Tucson, for which he also wrote a poem which was later published. Rene also participated in a play named "Soldado Razo" while attending the UofA. In 1975, Rene received a Liberal Arts degree from the University of Arizona, and later completed his teaching requirements. On the same day their first son was born, January 31, 1973, Rene was called to active duty. His first tour was in San Diego, California and he remained there for approximately one year. This gave way to his 21 year naval career, most of which was spent underwater in nuclear submarines. His home ports were San Diego, California; Bremerton, Washington; NATO Headquarters Estoril, Portugal; Norfolk, Virginia; and Key West, Florida. Rene served on the USS Queenfish, USS Bergall, and USS Salt Lake City. While stationed in Bremerton, his second son was born, and his daughter was born while he was stationed in Portugal.
Rene received many decorations, medals and badges throughout his career, to include, National Defense Service Medals, Sea Service Deployments, Humanitarian Service medals, Navy Achievement medals, Overseas Service medals, Meritorious Unit Commendations, and Navy Expeditionary medal. Rene retired from the U.S. Navy in February of 1995 as a Senior Chief Petty Officer (YNCS E-8) Yeoman. Upon retiring from the Navy, Rene returned to Douglas where he was active in creating the vision for the Douglas, Arizona Veteran's Memorial Project, which he helped bring to fruition in May of 1997. Rene also worked in civil service for the Department of Defense in FortHuachuca, as a government contractor at the U.S. Army Network Enterprise Technology Command (NETCOM) from 2001 to 2005, where he proudly continued to serve his country and the warfighter in many capacities; to include: Service Desk Analyst, Systems Engineer and Network Analyst. During his time at NETCOM, Rene supported many Army programs and missions, which often times called on him to travel abroad and into the war zone. He proudly performed these duties without hesitation and with the professionalism he was well known for. Rene will always be known for his love of life, music, food, family and for his deep love and devotion to his country and fellow veterans. During a short stay at the Veteran's Hospital in Tucson, Rene witnessed how many homeless veterans lived there. Upon recovering and returning home, he began "Operation Homeless Storm," along with the Sons of the American Legion, in an effort to collect basic necessities for homeless veterans and donate them to the VA Hospital. Rene also loved animals and he had a deep devotion to St. Francis of Assisi, patron saint of animals and the environment. The family is honored to be able to hold Rene's funeral services on the feast day of his favorite saint, on Saturday, October 4th. Services for Rene will be held on Saturday, October 4, 2014 at St. Luke's Church in Douglas. A Rosary will be held at 10 a.m., with Deacon Luciano Gonzalez Jr. officiating. Mass of the Resurrection will immediately follow the rosary, with Fr. Theodore Lobo officiating, assisted by Deacon Gonzalez. Interment will follow at Calvary Cemetery Veteran's Memorial Plot. Full military honors will be offered for Rene, by the U.S. Navy Color Guard, Ft. Huachuca Honor Guard, American Legion and VFW.