Joe "Jackrabbit" Hernandez

1940 - 2021

HERNANDEZ, Joe "Jackrabbit"

1940 - 2021

Athlete, Businessman, and

Beloved Family Man.

A private celebration of life will be held for Jose Maria Hernandez, 81, who died from complications of COVID19 on December 7th, surrounded by his family. Joe was the youngest of seven children. He was born in Bakersfield to Catarino Hernandez and Esperanza Ortega. He attended St. Joseph's Elementary School and Garces Memorial High School, where his future as a professional athlete began. While playing on the line, Joe picked up a fumble and ran it in for six - no one could catch him. Soon after, the alumni pressured the coach to put him in the backfield, where Joe ran for over two thousand yards in a shortened season. Joe's quick and agile bursts of speed soon earned him his nickname, "Jackrabbit Joe," which would follow him through his professional career.

Joe played football, basketball and ran track for the Rams, setting records that still stand on the gridiron and earning him a place in the school's inaugural Hall of Fame. After Garces, Joe attended New Mexico Military Institute and played on their national championship team. There he held the national rushing record. In 1959 he returned home to play for Bakersfield College on their national and Junior Rose Bowl teams. That year the team won the national championship and Junior Rose Bowl championship. Joe was the MVP of both games. Following Bakersfield, he was a top recruit to the University of Arizona.

Joe completed his undergraduate education at the University of Arizona, was a top receiver for the Wildcats, and was ranked 17th in the nation in scoring. He was inducted into the school's Hall of Fame. Joe was asked to run in the 1964 Summer Olympics. He was a second-round draft pick by the Washington Redskins, and the 17th overall pick in the NFL. He later played for the Atlanta Falcons, the Edmonton Eskimos, and was a two-time All-Pro Defensive Cornerback.

After his professional football career ended, Joe was an independent insurance salesman in Tucson, Arizona, and dedicated his life to raising his family and helping others. He counseled inmates in Tucson, Arizona, state prisons. Joe established a softball league for underprivileged children in Tucson. He created "Jackrabbit Ministries," a nonprofit Christian ministry taking him to Eastern Europe, East Africa, and Mexico. He was inducted into the Pima County Hall of Fame, Arizona Mexican American Hall of Fame, and the Bob Elias Hall of Fame. In 2008, Joe received the "Man of Faith" Award at the Athletes International Ministry Conference.

Although accomplished in many ways, Joe maintained a low-key, easy-going demeanor and never sought accolades. While football was Joe's ticket to far-away places, he had a servant's heart and was devoted to his faith and family. He married his high school sweetheart, Mary Ann Woolridge. They truly enjoyed each other's company and were by each other's side in life for 61 years of marriage. Their union produced four children. He gifted them with an extraordinary childhood and the tools to succeed in life.

Joe was preceded in death by his parents, his in-laws, Joe and Eileen Woolridge; his brother-in-law, Frank Woolridge; brothers, Frank Munoz and George Hernandez and his sisters, Linda Manley and Socorro Kimble. Those left to cherish his memory are his wife, his daughter, Leah Pasqua and sons, Jerry Hernandez, Jeffrey Hernandez and wife Anne Marie, Jonathan Hernandez and wife Lori; his sisters, Josephine Hart and Hope Bell; six grandchildren and two great-grandchildren. Arrangements by GREENLAWN MORTUARY AND CEMETERY.