Juan Antonio "Tony" Badillo

JUAN ANTONIO "TONY" BADILLO
Juan Antonio "Tony" Badillo, 88, South Texas biologist, educator, and civic leader, passed away on January 4 at the William R. Courtney Texas State Veterans Home in Temple, Texas.
Born Juan Antonio Badillo Román in Isabela, Puerto Rico, to Eulogia Román Arroyo and Antonio Badillo Torres, he was the second-youngest of six children. In the spirit of his Spanish forebears, Badillo left the island by boat at seventeen to seek his fortune in the continental U.S. After a brief visit with relatives in New York, he went on to the University of Dubuque, Iowa, where he completed an undergraduate degree in biology and met his future wife, Helen Efferding. Soon after their wedding in 1941, news came of the attack on Pearl Harbor, and Badillo enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corps. While he was undergoing altitude training at the Kirtland Army Airfield's bombardier school in Albuquerque, New Mexico, an accident in the pressure chamber left him in a coma for several months. He insisted on returning to the bombardier program as soon as he was released from the hospital and graduated the next year with distinction. However, perhaps due to his degree in biology, he was not sent overseas as expected but assigned to duty as a medical technician. This change, while deeply disappointing to him, provided knowledge and experience that would contribute to his acceptance by one of the most prestigious graduate programs in his field.
Upon his discharge from the Army, Badillo continued his education at the University of Michigan with an M.S. and doctoral studies under eminent geneticist and evolutionary biologist Theodosius Dobzhansky. In 1948, he joined the faculty of Texas A&I College, now Texas A&M University-Kingsville, where he taught biology and served as a consultant to the wildlife research and management programs at the King Ranch. In the late 1950s, Badillo left teaching to work for the Prudential Insurance Company--a change that took the family to Corpus Christi in 1959 and McAllen in 1962. Education was in his blood, however, and after ten years with Prudential, he resigned from his position as Division Manager to teach biology at Pharr-San Juan-Alamo High School. Shortly thereafter, he enrolled at the University of Texas-Pan American for a Master's in Educational Psychology and switched from teaching to academic counseling, where he remained until he retired.
Badillo was more than an educator; he was dedicated to community service and held positions of leadership in numerous civic and professional organizations, including the American Legion, the Junior Chamber of Commerce, the Lions Club, the United Methodist Church, the Republican Party, and the Texas Classroom Teachers Association. When health problems eventually kept him from participating in person, he turned to the Internet, where he wore out a series of Macintosh computers writing impassioned letters to the media about political issues and the state of public education. Known for his charm and wit as well as his outspoken opinions, Badillo was esteemed by his students and said that the hardest part of leaving South Texas was losing touch with them. However, he soon made friends at the veterans' home, where he delighted residents and staff alike with his intelligence and humor.
Besides his professional and civic life, Badillo found time for other interests including fishing, basketball (where his long shanks earned him the nickname "Legs Badillo"), and table tennis, in which his tricky, upside-down shots gained him a championship at A&I. In addition to sports, Badillo was a superb draftsman and enjoyed designing forms and documents. A lover of opera, he was himself blessed with a fine baritone voice, which graced many a church choir and contributed, along with his Latin accent, to his popularity as a speaker.
Preceded in death by his father, mother, and siblings, María, María Mercedes, José, Josephina, and Roberto, Badillo is survived by his wife of 66 years, Helen Efferding Badillo of Tomball, Texas; his three daughters, Gloria Badillo Hill of Austin, Texas, Patty Badillo Duncan and her husband, Joe Duncan, of Tomball, and Barbara Badillo Sheffield of Round Rock, Texas; his three grandchildren, Tonia "Toni" Hill Berry (his namesake) of Austin, Jeptha "Jep" Hill, III, of New York City, and Jack Boyd "Bo" Sheffield, Jr., of Austin; his four great-granddaughters, Tiffany, Caitlyn, Amber, and Summer Berry of Austin; and his nephew Tito Torres and his wife, Rosie Torres, of Alamogordo, New Mexico.
The family is deeply grateful for the excellent care Badillo received from the physicians and staff at the Courtney Home--most of all, from the wonderful attendant who, though not herself Hispanic, studied Puerto Rican cuisine on her own time and prepared dishes for him from his homeland.
A private memorial will be held in Tomball. The family invites friends and former students to sign the guestbook at www.themonitor.com/obituaries or send a personal message via gloria@gloriabadillo.com.