Ignatius "Joe" Huacuja

Joe was born at St Joseph’s hospital in Houston on the 5th of June 1956. Joe left this world the evening of Tuesday 3 Jan 2023 after a short hospital stay. Joe was the first boy and the third child of IJ Huacuja Sr and Eleanor (nee Kelley). They later added three more girls and one more boy to the household. Joe grew up in a busy house. Joe graduated from Spring Branch High School in 1975. He played football from the time he was just a little boy at Valley Oaks Elementary. Even though his parents wanted him to pursue higher education, Joe’s mind was set on service to his country. He joined the Army right out of high school. Whereas other recruits showed up with suitcases, Joe brought only a small bag that contained deodorant and his razor with shave cream. The DI singled him out and bellowed to the rest of the young, assembled men, “Smart man!” In the Army, Joe was a member of 1st Calvary. Joe saw Europe on Uncle Sam’s dime, but he spent most of his time near the South Korean Demilitarized Zone (he had breakfast looking at angry North Koreans!) and at Fort Carson, Colorado (he had breakfast looking at angry Elks!). He spoke many times about the cold in South Korea. He spoke of how they would run out of heating oil and have to dress in layers and layers since starting a fire was not an option. Due to the Korean War of the early 50’s, it was against the law to cut down any trees. The poor soldiers just had to freeze. At Fort Carson, he said you could hear the guard dogs barking at NORAD; there, he fell in love with the mountains. He always said that as soon as we won the lottery, we were moving to Colorado. Well… here we are still on the Gulf Coast. He did not win the lottery. Joe and I met through a mutual friend in 1993. The rest, as they say, is history. He got a quick refresher course in dealing with teens, in-betweens, and small kids. One of the things that he did to drive the girls crazy was to unplug their curling irons and hot rollers. And it did drive them crazy. He had his bonding time with the boys by taking them to car shows. His nerves were steadier than mine so teaching to drive fell into his realm. For that, I am forever grateful. The next endeavor was buying cars. That he did too with a giving heart. When it was time for them to go off to college, he didn’t hesitate to load them up and off they went. Sometimes to the point of renting a truck- an embarrassingly large truck- our younger daughter was high maintenance. 2007 brought a baby into our lives, Keegan. We loved him and cared for him as our own from the time that we first saw him. In 2011, Keegan came to live with us and in 2013, he became ours permanently. Joe loved animals. All animals. How many people do you know who have a 3-legged turtle? Joe did. Stumpy is close to 30 years old, and he has a good life too. We have a bird named Lisa Simpson and Nala is our dog, she knows he’s gone. But our cat, Big Kitty, really loved Joe and Joe really loved Big Kitty. The night he passed, Big Kitty refused to move from the place where he laid on the floor. Just refused. Joe loved football. He didn’t love all sports but football was his passion. He rooted for all the teams. For some reason, he just couldn’t get behind the Tennessee Titans; he thought they were transplanted Texans. Joe retired from The Metropolitan Transit Authority - Metro - in 2022. It has been a short retirement. We all loved the stories he would come home with after his shifts. Our favorites were about the beggars we see all down 1960. He had no use for them and he felt they were all con artists. He liked to say they made more money begging than he did working. They offended Joe. Joe has left a void that will never be filled. He has left behind Stumpy the Turtle, Lisa Simpson the Bird, Big Kitty, and Nala; they know their lives will never be the same. He has also left behind his companion of nearly 30 years Joyce Inman, son Keegan McGinty, stepdaughter Jamie Bautista and husband Tony, stepdaughter Mindy Uhlig and husband Daniel, stepson Chet Inman and wife Katy, and stepson Christopher Inman. His grandchildren are Joshua, Jacob, and Sarah Bautista, Skylar Ayala, Sage and Dani Uhlig, Laura and Tyler Inman, and Yaiza Inman. Joe also leaves behind his mother, Eleanor Huacuja of Dayton, Ohio, brother Willie Huacuja of Lavernia, his sister Kathy Tewart and husband Brad of Katy, his sister Judy Huacuja and husband David Koonz of Dayton, Ohio, and his sister Deborah Huacuja of San Antonio. He is also survived by several nieces and nephews. Joe Huacuja, know you were loved and will be missed by all.

Ignatius "Joe" Huacuja

June 5, 1956 - January 3, 2023