The Brownsville Herald - Online Edition Obituaries, May 9, 2006 GONZALO GARCIA Gonzalo García, 78, athletics coach, educator and civic philanthropist, died on May 1, 2006, in Brownsville, Texas. A Brownsville native, he had been living in Albuquerque, New Mexico since 2001. Gonzalo García was born on Christmas Day 1927, the third of five sons and one daughter of José Manuel and Santos Zamora García. He was educated in the Brownsville public schools, graduating in 1946. He was an all-round athlete in his high school years, participating in basketball, boxing, track, and shot-put as well as distinguishing himself as regional champion in discus. He was also a light heavyweight golden gloves boxing champion. In football, he earned All-District, All-Valley and All-South Texas honors as a two-way lineman for the Eagles. In 1946 he was captain of the Citrus Bowl Football Championship Team, and was also selected to the First Team, All District and All Valley Teams. Upon graduation from Brownsville High School, he received a four-year athletic scholarship to South-west Texas State University in San Marcos. As an undergraduate, he lettered four years, was three years in the First Team All Lone Star Conference, including the 1947 Championship, received Honorable Men-tion in football in 1948 and was honored as the best lineman in the L.S. Conference. In 1949 he was First Team selection on the Williamson's Little All American Team. In addition to his athletic prowess, Mr. Garcia was an excellent dancer. His aunt, Bettie Rogers (for-merly Peña) wrote, "The year Joe [the late José Angel Peña] and I got married, 1948, we went to Brownsville for Christmas. My memory of Hinelda and Gonzalo was of an evening in Matamoros and I saw them dancing Latin dances together, so gracefully!" Graduating in 1950, he received professional football offers from the Pittsburg Steelers, New York Gi-ants and San Francisco Dons. He chose instead to join the U.S Army, 40th Infantry Division as a Non-Commissioned Officer as an honor guard in the Defensive Platoon, serving in Japan and Korea. In De-cember of 1950, he was granted a brief Christmas furlough to return to Brownsville. On Christmas Day, he was married to Hinelda Alicia Alcalá, his wife of 51 years, deceased in 2002. After being honorably discharged from the United States Army in 1952, he joined the coaching staff of the Brownsville Independent School District. In the years that followed, he taught at Canales Elementary School and coached the Brownsville High School's freshman football team. He was appointed head coach at Cummings Intermediate School, where the teams he coached enjoyed several successful seasons in football, basketball, track, and softball. He became Assistant Principal in 1960. During these years he also organized and coached the first competi-tive Brownsville Swimming Team and worked in Cameron County's Summer Youth Program, for which he served as Supervisor in 1969 and 1970. Mr. García was Pace High School's first Head Coach and Athletic Coordinator from 1975 to 1978. At the old Brownsville High School and Hanna High, he taught business courses and was also an offensive and defensive line coach for the Brownsville High School Eagles under Coach Joe Rodriguez. He was also a member of the coaching staff for two Brownsville High School District and Regional Championships. He was a member of many athletic teacher's associations, among them the Texas State High School Coaches Association, the Texas High School Administrative Council, and the Texas High School Class-room Teacher's Association. In 1976, he retired from coaching and devoted himself to administrative duties at Pace High School. He retired from these duties in 1993, having served the Brownsville Independent School District for 41 years. He continued teaching another two years until 1995 achieving a total of 43 years with the district. In 1999, he was named to the Valley Freedom Newspapers' All-Millennium team sponsored by several papers in the Rio Grande Valley and inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame (Edinburg, Texas). He was active in numerous philanthropic endeavors, including eight terms as president of the Good Neighbor Settlement House, membership in the West Brownsville Lions Club, the Brownsville Optimist International Club (Distinguished President and Lieutenant Governor for the South Texas District), and Esperanza Boys and Girls Club of Brownsville (Board member and president). In the First United Methodist Church of Brownsville he wore many hats. He was an Adult Usher, spon-sor for the Youth Group, Superintendent of its Sunday School and a member of its Administrative Coun-cil. He also served as interpreter missionary for the Dental Group of the First United Methodist Church of Missouri, and for 16 years at the Missionary clinic for La Bartolina in Matamoros. From 1968 to 1996 he was listed in the following publications: Who's Who in the Methodist Church, Per-sonalities of the South, Men of Achievement, International Hall of Fame (Laredo, Texas), Southwest Texas Teachers State University Alumni Association, and as Distinguished President of the Brownsville International Club of the South Central Texas District. Summarizing "My Philosophy" in 1974, he wrote: "Helping others gain something for themselves is greater... than personal gain ...I believe I can do more by being a part of the activity, than by standing on the outside criticizing...I would like to think ... that I have had a part in making Brownsville a better place to live." He is survived by his children, Elda and husband Richard Pinsonneault of Albuquerque, Grady García and Sarah Garcia of Austin, Nathan Garcia of Naas County Kildare, Republic of Ireland, Naomi Garcia (Janice Murray) of Grand Rapids, Michigan; and three grand children, Phillip, Alicia and Jonathan Pin-sonneault of Albuquerque, as well as his uncle Manuel Zamora of Brownsville, Texas. Sisters-in-law Raquel Garcia of Mercedes, Texas and Maria Luisa Garcia, of Brownsville, Texas along with numerous nephews, nieces and cousins. The family would like to acknowledge Juan and Oralia Ramirez and David and Mayra Ramirez for their selfless support and loving care of our dad. Visitation will be held Wednesday, May 10, 2006 from 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday at Garza Memorial Funeral Home. There will be an evening service at 7 p.m. at Garza Memorial Funeral Home Chapel Funeral services will be held at Brownsville's First United Methodist Church, 1225 Boca Chica Boule-vard on Saturday, May 13, 2005 at 10 a.m., the Rev. Laura Adam officiating. Interment with Military Honors will follow at Rose Lawn Memorial Gardens. Honorary pall bearers will be Rolando Aguilar, Frank Maldonado, Juan M. Ramírez, Joe Salinas, David Ramírez, René Ramírez. Pall bearers will be Kenneth Alcalá, Albert Castro, Jr, Tony Campos, Roger García, Enrique Garcia, Jose Manuel (JM) Garcia, Sergio Garcia, Rudy G. Rincón, Zaul Zamora and Uvaldo Garcia. Full Military Honors will be conducted by the American Legion Post #43 Veterans Honor Guard. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Joe I. Treviño, Garza Memorial Funeral Home, 1025 East Jackson Street, (956) 542-5511. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that Memorial donations be sent to: Sunshine Haven Inc., Memorial Building Fund, P.O. Box 4478, Brownsville, Texas 78526; Good Neigh-bor Settlement House, 1254 East Tyler Street, Brownsville, Texas 78520; St. John's United Methodist Church, Organ Fund, 2626 Arizona NE, Albuquerque NM 87110; First United Methodist Church, 1225 Boca Chica Boulevard, Brownsville, Texas 78520. DONALD VERNON ALLEN SR. Donald Vernon Allen Sr., 78, a native of Fernandina Beach, Fla. and a resident of Morgan City died Sat-urday, May 6, 2006 at Terrebonne General Medical Center. Visitation was held on Monday from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. with a memorial time at 7:30 p.m. at Hargrave Funeral Home. Visitation will resume at the funeral home from noon to 3:30 p.m. on Tuesday. Services will be held at 4 p.m. on Tuesday at Immanuel Baptist Church. Interment will follow at the Morgan City Cemetery. Vernon is a Christian and was a member of Immanuel Baptist Church, Morgan City. Vernon left Fernandina Beach at 18 and ended up in Morgan City. He built his own shrimp boat, the Rose Marie, in Morgan City. He later moved to Brownsville, Texas and continued shrimping. Vernon was instrumental in opening Port Mansfield, Texas for shrimping. Vernon was also the youngest president of the Twin City Fisherman Co-op. Vernon owned workboats for the oil field and the yacht Good Neighbor, which he converted to a scuba diving boat and took to the Bay Islands, Honduras. He continued to work in the oil industry, traveling to South America, Mexico, Central America, Africa, and South East Asia. Using his expertise with the LO-RAN navigation system, Allen worked on the Moho Project in Hawaii in 1961. After retiring from the oil industry, Allen became the first modern river pilot to receive a license for the Lower Atchafalaya River and its tributaries. He was also instrumental in refurbishing the drilling rig Mr. Charlie. Until his death, Vernon was the oldest living descendent of Milly Francis, the Creek Indian maiden who was the first woman to receive a medal of honor from U.S. Congress, in 1844, as a testimony of the grati-tude of the United States for her humanitarian acts during the Indian Wars. Survivors include his wife of 55 years, Helene Bannert Allen of Morgan City; two daughters, Dr. Reva Allen of Toledo, Ohio and Ursula Plaisance and her husband Dudley of Kilgore, Texas; two sons, Virgil Allen and his wife Kathy of Morgan City and Brian Allen and his wife Tina of Richmond, Va.; one brother, Bobby Allen of Gainsville, Fla.; three sisters, Helen Burch of Yulee, Fla., Kathleen Jennings of Brownsville, Texas, and Linda Waller and her husband Jack of Brownsville, Texas; his grandchildren, Abby Pietrowski, Jacob Allen, Hans Allen, Sam Allen, Caleb Allen, Daniel Allen, Courtney Plaisance, Eric Plaisance, Ethan Allen and Micah Allen; and numerous nieces an nephews. Vernon was preceded in death by his parents, Augustus Allen and Clara Hazel Kennon Allen; and his son, Donald Vernon Allen Jr. Pallbearers are Jacob Allen, Hans Allen, Sam Allen, Caleb Allen, Daniel Allen, and Paul Pietrowski. Honorary pallbearers are Eric Plaisance, Ethan Allen, and Micah Allen. In lieu of flowers, the family requests that donations be made tot he Immanuel Baptist Church, Morgan City Building Fund, 901 Fig St., Morgan City, La. 70380. Funeral arrangements are under Hargrave Funeral Home, 1031 Victor II Blvd., Morgan City, La. 70346 (985) 384-8605. LAURO ACOSTA DE LA FUENTE Lauro Acosta De La Fuente, 52, was called by the Lord, Saturday, May 6, 2006, at Valley Baptist Medi-cal Center in Brownsville surrounded by his beloved family. He was born Feb. 18, 1954, in Santander Jimenez, Tamps. He was a resident of Brownsville for most of his life, and a member of the Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Lauro had worked with A.D. Welding Co., F.A. Company in Los Fresnos, before he had passed on Lauro had been working with Godel Construction Co., for numerous years. He was preceded in death by his father, Juan De La Fuente, and one brother, Roberto De La Fuente. He is survived by his beloved wife of 33 blessed years in marriage, Eufemia De La Fuente, of Brownsville, his beloved mother, Ma. Moncerratt A. De La Fuente, of San Antonio, Texas, four daughters, Marisa (Fily) Ibarra, Yesenia De La Fuente, both from Brownsville, Erica (Raul Perez, of Tomball, Texas and Laura De La Fuente, one son, Lauro (Geovanna) De La Fuente Jr., both from Brownsville, four sis-ters, Manuela F. Rodriguez, of San Antonio, Texas, Juanita Gutierrez, of Brownsville, Texas, Fide (Joe) Olguin, and Mary (Andy) Chavez, both from San Antonio, Texas, five brothers, Felix (Rebecca) De La Fuente, of Los Fresnos, Texas, Alfredo De La Fuente, of Brownsville, Texas, Andy (Elda) De La Fuente, of San Antonio, Texas, Joe (Nelda) De La Fuente, of Brownsville, Texas, and Alex (Carmen) De La Fuente, of San Antonio, Texas. He had a total of five beautiful grandchildren, which he adored and cherished with all his love. Visitation was held from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m., Monday, May 8, 2006 with a holy rosary recited at 7 p.m. at Delta Funeral Chapel. A Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, May 9, 2006, at the Good Shepherd Catholic Church. Interment will follow to Roselawn Cemetery. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Delta Funeral Directors 1300 E. Harrison St. 542-2222. BOB J. MONKRES Bob J. Monkres, 73, retired educator and administrator, beloved husband, father, brother, uncle and trusted friend walked through the gates of heaven at high noon on May 5, 2006, in Scotsdale, Arizona following a lengthy and courageous struggle with heart disease. His family was graced by his leadership, quiet strength and pure unconditional love of family and friends. He was born in Love County, Leon, Oklahoma on May 30, 1932 to Howard B. and Osie (Forkner) Monkres. He graduated from Leon High School and shortly thereafter moved to Ft. Worth, Texas. A Veteran of the Korean Conflict, Bob was very proud and honored to have served his country. He was inducted into the U.S. Army on January 15, 1953 at Ft. Sill, Oklahoma and was assigned to the 21st AAA, 25 Division on June, 1953 in Pusan, Korea. Following his tour of duty in Korea he attended school and received his Bachelor of Science degree from Texas Wesleyan in Ft. Worth, Texas in 1959 and his Master's degree in Secondary Administration from North Texas University in Denton, Texas in 1965. He married Sylvia Salazar on November 27, 1964 at Immaculate Heart of Mary in Harlingen, Texas. He held positions in Port Isabel, Texas, Los Fresnos, Texas, St. Paul County, Alberta, Canada and the Territory of Guam, U.S.A. as an elementary, Jr. High and Sr. High School Principal, former teacher, football and basketball coach, during his career. He is preceded in death by his parents Howard and Osie Monkres and brothers Howard Benton, Ken-neth Ray, Harold Dale, Jack Douglas, James and Keith. He is survived by his loving wife of 41 years Sylvia S. Monkres; son, Robert Joseph Monkres, daughter-in-law, Rhonda Alexander-Monkres and grandson, Randin; brothers, Thurman Eugene and wife Georgia Monkres of Arlington, Texas and Billy Wayne Monkres of Medina, Texas; sister, Voncille M. Kassen of ValleyView, Texas; brother-in-law, Javier Salazar of Harlingen, Texas; sister-in-law, Clarie Casas and husband Joe Casas of Corpus Christi, Texas; and 16 loving nieces and nephews in Texas, Oklahoma and California. Visitation will be held from 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. with a rosary to be recited at 7 p.m. on Wednesday May 10, 2006 at the Rudy Garza Funeral Home, 1702 E. Harrison, in Harlingen, The funeral procession will depart the Rudy Garza Funeral Home at 1:30 p.m. on Thursday May 11, 2006 for a 2 p.m. Mass of Christian burial at Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic with Father Mario Cas-tro as the celebrant. Entombment will follow at Mont Meta Memorial Park Mausoleum, 26170 State Highway 345 in San Benito, Texas with full Military honors under the auspices of the American Legion Post 205 and V.F.W. Post 2410. Funeral arrangements are under the direction of the Rudy Garza Funeral Home, 1702 E. Harrison, Harlingen, TX. 78550 (956) 425-8200. The Brownsville Herald 1135 E. 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