Joe Angel Gonzalez, Sr.

Joe Angel Gonzalez, Sr., 86, of Santa Fe, passed away Monday, May 6, 2024, surrounded by loved ones.

Funeral services will be held 11:00 a.m., Tuesday, May 14, 2024, at Emken Linton Funeral Home in Texas City. Burial will follow at Hayes Grace Cemetery. A visitation will be held from 5:00 – 7:00 p.m., Monday, May 13, 2024, also at Emken-Linton Funeral Home.

Joe was born on December 14, 1937, in Cerralvo N.L. Mexico, to Genevevo and Amanda Paz Gonzalez. Joe arrived in the U.S. in 1944.

The Gonzalez family lived in a military type barracks until 1952, then moved to a 2-bedroom home in Brownwood Subdivision in Orange, Texas. Joe graduated from Little Cypress High School in 1952 with a 4-year Athletic Scholarship in Basketball to Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas. Upon graduation from Stephen F Austin, he became a teacher at Little Cypress High School in Orange, Texas. He moved to Texas City and worked at Amoco until retirement.

Joe was very active at the Bayou Golf Course in Texas City. He served on the board of directors for 15 years, a 4-time club champion, and his course record  score of 63 on 4/24/1992 still stands today. 

Upon retirement, Joe and Mary moved to Lake Bonanza in Montgomery, Texas, where traveling and socializing became a priority. Golfing was still a huge part of his life, even to the point where he managed a 9-hole golf course in Lake Bonanza with his brother, Johnny. Joe even served as President of the Lake Bonanza Water Supply Corporation as well as the Director for the Lake Bonanza Property Association. 

In 2017, they moved back to Galveston County to be close to their kids and grandkids. This opened up the opportunity for his return to the Bayou Golf Course in Texas City. 

Joe is preceded in death by his loving wife of 43 years, Mary Gonzalez; parents, Genevevo and Amanda Gonzalez; brother, Bernie Gonzales; and sister, Annette Risinger.

He is survived by his children, Joe Angel Gonzalez, Jr., Angela Gonzalez, Theresa Kraus, Jerry Dobbs, and Ricky Dobbs. He is also survived by granddaughters, Desiree and husband Martin, Megan and husband Tanner, Lauren, Tamara, and Holly; grandsons, John and wife Tami, Sean and wife Renee, and Kevin and wife Sara; great-grandsons, Parker, Spencer, Jackson, Marshall, and Eli; great-granddaughters, Kinley, Skylar, Olivia, Abby, and Madison; brothers, Johnny Gonzalez and wife Karen, Henry Gonzalez and wife Dorris, Herman Gonzalez and wife Sherrie, and Amando Gonzalez and wife Miriam; and numerous other family and friends.

Pallbearers are Johnny Gonzalez, Herman Gonzalez, Topper Gonzalez, Sean Kraus, Martin Johanson, and Tanner Matejka. Honorary pallbearers include Marshall Johanson and Eli Matejka. 

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in his honor to MD Anderson Cancer Center.