Thomas George Gonzales Sr

Thomas George Gonzales Sr., 68, of Beaumont went to be with the Lord Saturday May 31, 2014 after a valiant battle with cancer. He was born July 6, 1945 and lived most of his life in Beaumont. He was preceded in death by his mother, Delia Thornell and his grandmother, Isabella Costello. Survivors include his children Felicia Reyes, Thomas Gonzales Jr., Theresa Nolan and her husband Scott, Sabrina Smith and her husband Scott, Dave Gonzales and his wife Tabatha, thirteen grandchildren, and numerous great grandchildren. He was loved, adored, and cherished by his family and friends, and he will be greatly missed.
A gathering of family and friends will be held Tuesday, June 3, 2014 from 5:00 – 8:00 pm at Claybar Kelley Watkins Funeral Home. There will be a celebration of Thomas’ life Wednesday, June 4, 2014 at 10:00 am also at the funeral home with interment to follow at China Cemetery.

There is so much I want to say about daddy for all of us. For those he met, he touched for a lifetime. He was generous beyond measure, he fed the hungry, and helped the poor. He didn't attend church regularly but had personal relationship with his Savior, and his ailment allowed him to draw closer . He was what Jesus intended a disciple should be . He didn't have a degree , he didn't like the spotlight, but he was a man of integrity . He never broke a promise . All though we all felt like his favorite , he didn't have any favorites . He loved us all the same, but he did pull to those who were hurting or had a need. His children and family were the reason for his existence .

Some of the happiest days of my dad's life were when we bought land next door to my mother’s parents. Dad never knew his dad and my paw paw took him in as his own. My dad loved and respected him with everything he had and the feeling was mutual.

Later on in the years my dad took on the responsibility to take care of his mom with Alzheimer's. Sabrina and the girls spent more time with her than me and Dave . But at the end daddy asked me to help because he didn't think Sabrina was strong enough for this next step. I didn't want to, because I was definitely not her favorite , half the time she didn't claim me. But when my daddy asked me, I did it. I'm so glad I did, I fell in love with grandmaw and restored a relationship that was broken. We all came back together including my brother Thomas Jr. She was surrounded by her family something we learned from our sweet father.

Our father was not perfect , but pretty close. He always reached out to help others and always recognized needs of others and sometimes perfect strangers. You never know when you are entertaining angels. I know those he entertained greeted him along with Jesus to take him home.

My dad was not dealt the best hand in life but he took the cards and made the best of it. He never knew his father and yearned for that all of his life but instead of being bitter he poured his life into his kids. He made sure we knew our dad loved us.

He didn't have the easiest kids to raise but he was there with open arms when we ventured off thinking we knew best . He let us make mistakes but welcomed us back like the story of the prodigal son..

My dad was not a rich man monetary wise, but during treatment Dr. Kong , told dad he was rich because of his family and how blessed he was, because many do not have what he has. We all wanted to give back to daddy, but nothing we did could ever repay what he has done for us.



I speak for all of us when I say , dad nurtured us when we were sick, cooked, cleaned, spent time teaching us worked hard two jobs to be able to have family time on weekends with movie and dinner and yet he still found time to reach out to those he didn't know . We watched his generosity and love for others . He never had a lot, but in the times that he had much, he gave it away. He left us a legacy and will do our best to continue being the selfless person that he was.


I heard this quote and felt it fitting-

"A truly rich man is one whose children run into their arms when his hands are empty"
Author unknown


It was our turn to give back, and what an honor it was !



What I have learned from my hero I call dad.

Love your family, for who they are not what they are, not what degree they have. My brother Dave went to school for mechanical engineering , my sister is going for chemical engineering. My other brother works with his hands and me myself , well natural born marketer but never made one of us feel superior over the other because of degrees or education. He didn't have patience for mediocrity or laziness, there was always a way to make a living and make a life so he encouraged us and believed in us to be our best at whatever that may be.

There was never a dull moment lots of laughs with daddy. He would make up nick names sometimes because of his hearing problems .

Sabrina - Nina
Thomas - Junior- poo
Rene-na na
Elishia-Lisa bell
Dave- Dave Edward
Theresa - Teri
Emery- Emily Trevor
Faith- faya
Cynthia- Cyndi- Lou
Tabatha- Tamatha
Nurse - Tamieka - Jamaica
Sarah- Sarah Bella
He kept us rolling , and we will hang on to those memories. The last three days with dad he had zero pain and God honored his prayers of dying with dignity . Even though god did not choose to heal him on earth dad received the ultimate healing in heaven.

The hope we will hang on to is that this is a brief separation until we meet again. We Love you daddy !!