Louis Ernest Delgado

Louis "Lou, Uncle Lou" Delgado entered into his eternal rest on October 31, 2021, at the age of 68. He was born on September 7, 1953, in Ft. Worth, Texas, to Ernestine and Luiz Delgado and was the oldest of three children. Lou will forever be remembered for his larger-than-life persona that oozed kindness and compassion to all who met him. He brought boundless energy to every endeavor, large and small. He had an incredible sense of humor and had a great laugh especially when the joke was at his expense. He had an insatiable appetite for books, music and movies of all genres, a love of Christmas and selecting the perfect gift for each person. His love of family had no limits. He lived a meaningful life.

While in his youth, Lou had the good fortune to travel and live all over the world due to his father's military service which gave him a deep understanding and appreciation for people from all walks of life and was the catalyst for what would become his passion for public service. His high school days in Athens, Greece were quite memorable, where he studied and graduated from the American Community Schools of Athens. He loved and excelled in athletics and played every team sport available, basketball, baseball, football, and track. He headed back to Texas for college, where he was a walk-on to the track team and graduated from his beloved University of Texas (“Hook’em Horns”) with a degree in History. His first taste of politics began while working as a student reporter with the Daily Texan covering the state legislature. He would develop long lasting relationships with those who would later become his mentors and close friends.

He began his professional career working as a Special Assistant to the Houston City Comptroller Leonel “Lone” Castillo and then followed him to Washington, D.C. when President Carter appointed Castillo to be Commissioner of the U.S. Immigration and Nationalization Service (INS). Additional positions within the Carter Administration included stints at Small Business Administration, the Census Bureau, and the Export-Import Bank. Throughout his professional career he held numerous high-level positions working with the Texas State Legislature and the U.S. Congress. He proudly served the late “great” Rep. Mickey Leland (D-TX) for ten years on Capitol Hill as Committee Staff Director and considered him one of his closest friends. After leaving Capitol Hill, Lou changed direction and pursued a career as a financial advisor with Citi. After a few years, he realized his heart and his strengths were better suited to the policy side of the business and became the lead on building key Citigroup strategic alliances especially those that would benefit Hispanic communities.

After he retired, he settled in San Antonio, Texas where he could be close to family and work on his golf game. He took on limited consulting work, volunteered at local charities and engaged in various community activities. Lou was also an avid sports fan and a loyal supporter of the Houston Astros, San Antonio Spurs, the Dallas Cowboys and the UT Longhorns. Louis had a lot of interests and talents, but his most remarkable and memorable quality was his compassion and commitment to helping those who are socially and economically disadvantaged, and caring for his family, friends and coworkers.

He will be reunited with his mother, Ernestine Delgado. Lou will always be remembered by his father, Luiz Delgado; siblings, Ben Delgado and Abbie (Lonnie) Gambrell; nieces, Teresa (Greg) Lutha and Abbie (Brandon) Hayden; nephews, Jeff Delgado and Evan (Erica) Gambrell. Great-niece Madi Hayden; great-nephews, Nathan Bailey-Delgado, Lucas Delgado, and Zak Hayden, Lou’s former spouse, Jeanne Marie McGlynn Delgado, with whom he has shared a lasting friendship and extended family members and friends will always carry his memory.