Harmon Co. OK Obit for: Jose N. Carrisalez ************************************************************************ USGENWEB ARCHIVES NOTICE: These electronic pages may NOT be reproduced in any format for profit or presentation by any other organization or persons. Persons or organizations desiring to use this material, must obtain the written consent of the contributor, or the legal representative of the submitter, and contact the listed USGenWeb archivist with proof of this consent. The submitter has given permission to the USGenWeb Archives to store the file permanently for free access. http://www.usgwarchives.net/ *********************************************************************** Transcribed from the Altus Times http://www.altustimes.com/ For the Harmon County, OK. archives project: http://www.usgwarchives.net/ok/harmon/harmonobits.html 11/28/2002 by Bill Cook, billcook44@aol.com for the Harmon Co. Okla. Archives. ************************************************************ Nov. 20, 2002 Longtime Altus resident Jose N. Carrisalez died Monday in Oklahoma City. Funeral services will be at 10 a.m. Friday at the Prince of Peace Catholic Church with the Rev. Antonio Moreno officiating. Interment will follow in the Altus City Cemetery under the direction of Lowell-Tims Funeral Home. A Prayer Vigil has been scheduled for 6:30 p.m. Thursday at the Lowell-Tims Funeral Home Chapel. He was born Jan. 26, 1936 in Los Fresnos, Texas. While in school he developed a strong love and skill for baseball. He played baseball throughout all of his school years. He always enjoyed watching baseball and it was one of his greatest pastimes. Two years after he graduated from high school he married Josefina Juarez on Aug. 26, 1956 in Rio Hondo, Texas. She preceded him in death Dec. 6, 2000. In April of 1957, he began his 33-year civil service career in Port Isabel, Texas as a water treatment plant operator. The Carrisalez family moved to Altus in January of 1962, where he worked in the Civil Service as a sewage plant worker. He was later reassigned to the Civilian Personnel Office as Equal Employment Manager for Altus Air Force Base. In January of 1989 he was reassigned as Chief of the Employment Development Section. While working as the Equal Employment Manager, he made an important contribution to what friend and local attorney Tal Oden likes to describe as a very vital and hard task. "His career was in human relations and sociology. He was a human relations consultant helping everyone learn to accept each other. " He served on many committees to help other people such as finding employment for minorities, helping farmers and seasonal workers and Hispanic organizations and services. He was also chairman of Hispanic Heritage Week, member of the Altus Lions Club, and member of the American GI Forum. During his involvement in the Lions Club he served as president and was the chairman of many committees. He was also given the highest award that one can be given in the organization - the Melvin Jones Fellowship Award. He participated in the Oklahoma Rural Opportunity Development Corporation, the Southwest Oklahoma Development Authority, and the Kiowa Indian Tribe Private Industry Council. He was also a disc jockey for the Spanish radio program on KWHW Radio for more than 20 years. He enjoyed announcing the grade school little league football games for many years. He was one of the founders of the Hispanics for Education and Cultural Awareness, a local organization. He was also a major force in bringing the League of United Latin American Citizens to Altus where the local chapter was formed. One of his biggest passions was working with the Boy Scouts of America, Boy Scout Troop 271, in which he had been active since 1968. He served as a committee chairman, Cub Master, Scout Master, District Commissioner, and was awarded the Silver Beaver Award, the highest award one can receive, for his 33 years of service to the Boy Scouts. He became the district commissioner, in charge of the five-county area, the southwest corner of Oklahoma - Jackson, Tillman, Kiowa, Greer and Harmon counties. His wife Josefina was a great supporter of Jose in his work with the Boy Scouts. He is survived by four sons, Elloid J. Carrisalez of Duke, Daniel Carrisalez and his wife Jeaneen of Blair, Orlando Carrisalez of Stillwater and Leonel Carrisalez of Oklahoma City; two sisters, Delia Caudill and Linda Lumdreras, both of Los Fresnos, Texas; two brothers, Blas Carrisalez of Brownsville, Texas, Federico Carrisalez of Ingleside, Texas; three granddaughters, Christa Carrisalez, Teresa Carrisalez, Jessica Carrisalez, three grandsons, Justin Carrisalez, Jared Carrisalez and Steven Jackson; and two great-grandsons, Jasper Chase Jackson and Phillip Carrisalez. He was preceded in death by his parents, wife Josefina and a brother, Enrique Carrisalez. Memorials may be made to the Josefina Carrisalez Scholarship Fund ar the Prince of Peace Catholic Church in memory of Jose N. Carrisalez.