Dr. Jose R. Perez

Dr. José R. Pérez, beloved husband, father, and grandfather, was called home by his Lord on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at the age of 91 surrounded by love and abundant blessings. His death was unexpected, as he was in relatively good health until very recently. He passed away from catastrophic complications following a routine gall bladder surgery that took place on April 30, 2015.

A dedicated family man and dentist for almost 40 years, José was born in Holguín, Cuba on March 7, 1924. In his youth, he lived a very happy and peaceful life in Gibara, Cuba with his parents, brother, and 3 sisters. His childhood home was on the beach overlooking the Caribbean Sea, which matched his turquoise blue eyes. As a young man, he enjoyed swimming, diving, fishing, dancing, baseball, and boxing.

After graduating from the University of Havana in 1948, José completed a 1 year internship in Rochester, New York. He then moved to Victoria de las Tunas, Cuba to open his dental practice. There, he met the love of his life, Yolanda Ramona Sosa Suñol. After a two year courtship, they married on May 22, 1954 and started their family.

Due to the subsequent communist revolution and following political upheaval, José and Yolanda made the courageous decision to leave their homeland in 1965 with their 6 young children to start a new life in the U.S. This entailed leaving behind their family, friends, language, culture, social standing, and financial security. A resilient and hardworking man, José had a job as a waiter at the Fontainebleau Hotel within a week of landing in Miami, Florida. Soon after, he and his family relocated to Delaware, where he worked in a public dental clinic for almost 3 years. Due to the struggles they faced, and now with a stronger mastery of the English language, he then decided to return to school. He graduated from the University of Alabama 1970 in order to validate his professional credentials in the U.S.

The family then moved to San Antonio, Texas, where José opened two dental practices throughout the remainder of his career? one on West Woodlawn and one on Callaghan Road. He retired in 1990, and dedicated his time to doing charitable work for the Archdiocese of San Antonio and joined the Third Order of St. Francis as a lay minister with his wife. In his later years, he took up painting as a new hobby, and enjoyed using Cuba?s beautiful landscape as his inspiration. He also enjoyed deer hunting and was an avid San Antonio Spurs fan.
He had a musical ear, and could often be found whistling and humming along to his favorite songs. He particularly enjoyed the music of Beny Moré, Orquesta Aragón, Mariano Mercerón, Celia Cruz, Rolando La Serie, Tony Bennett, Nat King Cole, Glenn Miller and everything Gershwin and Cole Porter. He also loved jazz and classical music and listened to it throughout the day.

José was known to his relatives and friends as ?Pipe,? to his children as ?Papi,? and to his grandchildren as ?Papo,? ?Ito,? and ?Abuelo.? He was the epitome of the strong, silent type, had a great sense of humor, and always maintained a happy and optimistic disposition. He was a true, old school gentleman, and a loving family man who valued education and inspired his children and grandchildren to set goals and achieve them. Above all, however, his legacy to his family will be his unwavering faith in God and his trust and hope in His love and mercy.

José was blessed with the love, respect, and admiration of all that knew him and he will be sorely missed. He was so very easy to love and impossible to forget.

José is survived by his loving wife of 61 years, Yolanda; his daughter, Yolanda ?Yoly? Maria; his 5 sons, José Rafael Jr. (Joan), Ricardo Tomás, Rafael Antonio (Monica), Julian Victor (Celia), and Eduardo Melchor; 8 grandchildren (Alexander, Gabriella, Taylor, Leah, Briana, Kyler, Xochitl and Carlo), 2 sisters (Alicia and Laura), numerous nieces and nephews, and countless friends. He was preceded in death by his daughter, Lourdes Maria; his parents, Ricardo and Petra; his brother, Ricardo Julian; and his sister, Olga.

FUNERAL SERVICES:

Services will take place Thursday May 21, with the visitation at 5:00 p.m. and the Rosary at 7:00 p.m. at The Angelus Funeral Home (1119 N St Mary's St, San Antonio, TX 78215); and Friday May 22 with the Funeral Mass at 2:00 p.m. at St. Matthew?s Catholic Church (10703 Wurzbach Rd, San Antonio, TX 78230), with interment following at Holy Cross Cemetery (17501 Nacogdoches Rd, San Antonio, TX 78266).

During his last two years, he lived at Timberhill Villa Retirement Community with his wife. The family would like to thank the Timberhill community for their continued love and support.

The family would also like say a special thank you to the staff at Gentiva Hospice for their compassionate care during his last days and expressions of love to his wife, children, and grandchildren.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made in his name to St. Jude Children?s Research Hospital.