George Villalva

1935 - 2025

Austin architect and community leader George Villalva, Jr. passed away unexpectedly on February 5 after an accident, his family confirmed. He was 89. George was born in 1935 in El Paso, Texas to George Villalva, Sr. and Elisa Morales. Upon completion of high school in El Paso, he joined the U.S. Air Force and was stationed in California and Okinawa, Japan where he began a lifelong appreciation of Japanese culture. After four years of military service, George returned to El Paso and enrolled at Texas Western University (now University of Texas at El Paso) to study engineering. In 1960, he moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas at Austin. He graduated with an architecture degree in 1966.

While a student at UT, he worked for architecture firms Lundgren & Mauer and Brooks Barr Graeber & White, involved with projects for iconic local buildings like the Driskill Hotel, City National Bank and the chapel at Huston Tillotson University. He taught design and drawing for six years at the UT School of Architecture.

In 1976 he and fellow architect Juan Cotera formed Villalva Cotera Architects, the first Mexican-American-owned architecture firm in east Austin. Gaining commissions throughout Central and South Texas, their office was housed in a historic east Austin home. George was also among business leaders who participated in founding the first Austin Mexican-American Chamber of Commerce.

George had an insatiable appetite for learning and collecting art. Beyond architecture, George was an avid dancer, painter, automobile enthusiast, and model builder. He was a voracious reader of books on psychology, religion, history, physics, martial arts, native cultures, painting, travel and more. He often called friends to share his latest discovery and spoke endlessly and enthusiastically to many captive listeners.

George was most at home camping and hiking in the Guadalupe Mountains in West Texas. He would often invite friends to join him to hike the peak and to share his knowledge about the best hiking gear as well as his appreciation of the night skies in the park.

The oldest of four, he is survived by two sons, Sebastian of Austin and Alejandro of Dayton, Ohio, siblings Norma Rosta, Rogelio Villalva, Jaime Villalva of El Paso, ex-wife Paula Villalobos and two grandsons Samuel and Benjamin.

Funeral arrangements are pending. Contact Sebastian Villalva at Sebastian_Villalva@yahoo.com for details.