Jose Humberto Vazquez

Jose Humberto Vazquez, 93, of Laredo, Texas, passed away on April 7, 2020, peacefully, surrounded by his children. Jose was born in Laredo, Texas on December 30, 1926. He attended Laredo public schools and graduated from Martin High School in 1945. Jose’s high school sweetheart and spouse of 70 years, Lilia V. Vazquez preceded him in death in February 2019. He is survived by his three children, Lilia Vazquez Garcia, (Francisco L.), Carlos Vazquez, and Guillermo Vazquez. He was predeceased in death by his eldest son, Jose Humberto Vazquez Jr. He has five grandchildren, Clarisa Rhodes (Greg), Gabriel Garcia (Emily), Delia Christina Vazquez, Guillermo E. Vazquez Jr., and Christian Humberto Vazquez. He has five great-grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents Pedro and Carlota Vazquez, of Laredo. He is survived by two siblings, Edilia Morrow and Edgardo Vazquez, both of California, and predeceased by one brother, Pedro Vazquez. Jose began his career as a postal worker from 1945 through 1964 before he became a labor representative for several national unions. He founded Branch 354 of the National Association of Letter Carriers and served as President for six consecutive terms. He was later elected President of District 5 of the Texas Association of Letter Carriers. His willingness to serve the interest of working families allowed him to serve six terms as President of the Webb County Central Labor Council AFL-CIO. Throughout his career as a labor representative, he led many labor struggles and strikes to ensure that workers gained recognition and representation rights. He led his largest campaigns in Laredo, Lubbock, and San Antonio, Texas, and Albuquerque, New Mexico. His passion was to ensure workers had effective procedures in place to negotiate terms and conditions of employment. In 1964, he was appointed by the Texas AFL-CIO as the Labor Representative to the Texas Partners of the Alliance for Progress to visit Peru as a part of President John F. Kennedy’s International Alliance for Progress Initiative. In 1978 he traveled to El Salvador and Guatemala on behalf of the US Department of Labor Bureau of International Affairs. He served in various other roles such as a member of the Joint Local Trade Union Committee and Public Information Officer for the Texas AFL-CIO. He served as an International Representative of the Laborers’ International Union for 35+ years with over 50 years of service representing workers. After his retirement from the Laborers’ Union, he served as a member of the Webb County Appraisal District Review Board and as a Board member for the Workforce Solutions of South Texas. In 1974, Jose also ran for City Council in Laredo with the idea that we should all work for the progress of our community. After a large labor struggle that began at Laredo AFB, he and his best friend, and union brother, David Jacobs, fought for federal legislation to secure workers’ rights while working on federal installations. That culminated in the passage of the Service Contract Act of 1965 which now protects thousands of workers throughout the United States. Jose also enjoyed his time with his family by making special trips abroad. His travels took him around the world to multiple countries in Europe and South and Central America. He adored Mexico and traveled there frequently with the family, especially to his father-in-law’s ranch in Bustamante, Mexico as well as the family ranch near Laredo. He enjoyed cooking and hunting with the entire family by his side, killing his last buck in Dec 2019 at the age of 92. His devotion to his faith in Christ grew as he devoted more time to Sinai Presbyterian Church, his church for over 60 years, where he held several church positions, culminating in his role as a Ruling Elder, a position he held until his death. The family wishes to thank the entire staff of the Hope Kidney Clinic – Lakeview for the loving care they gave Jose over the last 6 years. His visits were often the highlight of his week as he looked forward to socializing with the technicians, nurses, and doctors. The family also wishes to thank the congregation of Sinai Presbyterian Church, and their Pastor, Rev. Rafael Dominguez, the entire Vazquez and Villarreal families, and most of all, our Lord Jesus Christ for the blessing of eternal life. The family had a private service this week and will announce a memorial service to be held in the next few months so that the family can travel from out of state. The family requests that the sending of flowers be withheld until the memorial service.