Almost to the end, Jorge had a twinkle in his eye and a funny thing to say – ‘how are you, Dad’: ‘No, no tortillas today’ or ‘Y el cheque…?’ or ‘Como mango…amarillo y chupado y un poco petacón.’ Born in Villa Acuña in 1940, where children learned to swim in the ‘salado’ and wonderful people from all across the world came to stay; he always had a great story to tell. Nobody had any money; the sport was always baseball; everyone eked out a living the best they could (Yukis, palomitas, tiendas, ferias). It was the War and Post-war years, and Jorge remembers Japanese friends coming to play, German bakers across the street, and strict Irish nuns, who made him memorize La Marseillaise (and being slapped on the wrist with a very very long ruler). Mexican families back then, he once said, were mobile. And the Peñas (Don Felipe y Doña Conchita, Chabe, Roberto, Elsa, and Conchis) lived in many places throughout his youth in Mexico and in Texas: Piedras Negras, San Antonio, and Del Rio until finally coming to settle near where his mother’s family was from in Monclova, Coahuila. Times could be tough. He started working at the age of six sweeping his uncle’s bank in Eagle Pass (Viguera Banking Co.) and at the age of twelve went to pick strawberries in California as a migrant worker.
For a man who never went to high school (‘I just skipped it and went to San Antonio College’), it was formidable that he graduated from UT in 1964 with one of the hardest degrees around: Accounting. He especially loved Cost Accounting and was even a grader to W.C. Gordon. He loved UT-Austin, and when he was getting ready to graduate, his professors played a prank on him – they told him that he could not graduate unless he had taken Home Economics. ‘Home Economics…?’ Even his friends shook their heads and said that was it, he had to stay an extra year because without that ‘hard’ class, he would not get his degree. Of course, that turned into a funny story years later because one of his professors gave him a 6-pack and told him it was all a joke. Jorge had so many stories to tell about UT back then: it only cost $50 a semester; free donuts and and coffee were given in the St. Anthony’s parish every Sunday; Satchmo played like there was no tomorrow. But of course the most important event that happened to him soon after graduating was meeting Karen Frances Cromack, his wife of almost 58 years. ‘Lightning struck when we went on a blind date during a concert of Toña La Negra…’ But when asked about how long he had been married, he always said that he was still collecting pocket money to pay for the wedding.
Jorge was a businessman ahead of his time in many ways. Immediately after UT he moved to Monclova, Coahuila to work for Harold Pape at Altos Hornos and helped implement one of the first budgeting programs for steel mills in Latin America. He then went on to work for Don Carlos Prieto at Fundidora and saved the company quite a bit of money, with an extensive budgeting model. He was a consultant for Arthur D. Little in Mexico City. He eventually came to live in Brownsville, TX where he started many ventures, some successful, others not. He then was employed by Trico in Brownsville and then Matamoros, Tamaulipas. He led the early Maquila Association and various labor union negotiations with Don Agapito and Fidel Velasquez in Mexico City. He was a proud member of the Club Rotario in Matamoros and helped many companies navigate their businesses on the border town in the 80s and 90s.
His children and beloved grandchildren, who called him Pipa, adored his sense of humor but overall loved his utter dedication to being a family man. There was nothing he enjoyed more than a BBQ on a Sunday with all the ‘relativos’ over, whether that be on Padre Island or at home in Brownsville, TX. He was most proud that he put 2 children through Stanford and a daughter in grad school at Harvard. He will be remembered by all of his nieces and nephews and grandchildren for instilling in them a strong work ethic and the importance of an education.
Jorge was at heart a searcher and seeker on and off the road – a journeyman. He loved to drive. He probably clocked more than 1,000,000 miles on his imaginary mileage counter. He also traveled quite a bit in his later life: Germany, Holland, Spain, France, Scotland, England and Italy. He regretted not visiting Ireland, as he always remembered his childhood Irish nuns. He was also an avid reader.
Jorge is survived by his wife, Karen Frances Peña, his daughter Karen Patricia Benavente and his son Jorge K. Peña (Leyla Avendaño), three high-achieving grandchildren: Alexa, Andrea, and Jorge A. Peña, 3 siblings: Maria Isabel Russares (Homero), Elsa Yruegas (Tomás), Concepción Gutierrez (Gilberto), sister-in-law Dalel Peña, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his parents, Felipe and Concepción Peña, and his brother, Roberto Peña.
The Peñas would like to especially thank Dr. Edward H. McGlynn for his dedication to his friend Jorge. Special thanks goes to Safe Haven Hospice and staff for their kindness and exceptional care of Jorge.
Services are under the guidance of Sunset Memorial Funeral Home, Crematory & Flower Shop. 657 Springmart Blvd., Brownsville, Texas. (956) 350-8485
Visitation is scheduled for Saturday, September 27th, from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m., with a recitation of the Holy Rosary at 6:00 p.m. Services conclude at the end of the evening.
To send flowers or a plant to the family in the memory of Mr. Jorge Felipe Peña, please visit https://shalomflorals.com or call (956) 572-3872.
Add Comment