Eliasib Villarreal Barrón

Eli V. Barrón, 87, of Austin, Texas took his final breath at his home surrounded by family on November 19, 2022.

Eli was preceded in death by his parents Ricardo and Maria Loreto, and his ten brothers and sisters, Carlos, Guadalupe and Trinidad of Mexico, and Leopoldo, Salvador (Delia), Mary, Ricardo, Jose, David, and Gilda of the Rio Grande Valley, Texas. He is survived by the love of his life, his wife Carmen Evangelina, and by his children, John (Nena), Teresa (Rolando), Laurie (Griffin), Margie (Von), Rachel (Rick), 14 grandchildren, Kathy, Michael, Daniel, John Michael, Laura, Carlos, Stephanie, Alyssa, Cristian, Alex, Carolina, Jackson, Alexa, Santiago and 7 great-grandchildren.

Eli was born on November 22, 1934 to Maria Loreto (Mama Lore) and Ricardo Barrón in Edinburg Texas. He graduated from Edinburg High School in 1953 and enrolled at Pan American University for one semester where he first met his future wife, Eva. He joined the United States Air Force and served from February 1954 to February 1958 and was stationed in Germany and Italy as a cryptographer, earning the rank of Staff Sergeant. He returned to Edinburg where, by chance and great fortune, he re-acquainted with Eva before he enrolled at the University of Texas at Austin. Eli and Eva were wed on December 27, 1959 in Pharr, Texas. Shortly after, they moved to Austin where Eli continued his studies and where their son John was born. In 1961, Eli and Eva moved to Minneapolis Minnesota where their daughter Teresa was born and where Eli found employment with Bituminous Casualty Insurance Company. He was transferred to Detroit Michigan in 1962, settling his family in the suburb of Royal Oak where his daughters Laurie, Margie and Rachel were born. Eli continued his career working as an Insurance Adjuster in and around the Detroit metro area in the fields of casualty and workers compensation. During this time, he also had a part time job selling shoes and continued his education at Wayne State University. During the summer of 1968, Eli and Eva and their young family moved to Austin Texas where Eli found employment with the Travelers Insurance Company. He graduated from The University of Texas in 1969 and began his employment with the Texas Department of Insurance during the mid-1970’s. In 1986, his career led him into free enterprise through his purchase of an Independent Adjusting franchise with Frontier Adjusters Incorporated, allowing him to provide employment and career development opportunities to others until his retirement in 2016.

In the mid-1970’s, during the Civil Rights and the Vietnam era, Eli volunteered his time and energy to SER Jobs for Progress to aid with development and utilization of America’s human resources, with special emphasis on the needs of Hispanics in the areas of education, training, employment, business, and economic opportunities. He mentored people on how to prepare for job interviews and assisted in providing English as a Second Language courses.

Eli found inspiration from his own life experiences and historical family heritage and introduced his children to the Mexican culture in wonderous ways. He envisioned bringing Mexico’s traditional national sport of Charreria to Austin during the mid-1970s. Eli organized a cadre of like-minded souls who together founded the Austin Charro Association. This led to the acquisition of land and construction of a key shaped arena called a “lienzo” where Mexican style rodeos called Charreadas were held. Eli and his growing family participated in many memorable Austin Charro Association events including parades, bailes (dances), queen coronations, horsemanship events and charreadas. Eli’s great passion for Mariachi music bloomed to fruition during the mid -1970s when he first served as a business manager for Mariachi Estrella and later played trumpet. It was a great honor for Eli and his fellow Mariachi Estrella musicians to perform at President Jimmy Carter’s inauguration in 1976. Eli later formed his own group, Mariachi Texas, and Eva served as the group’s booking agent. Later, Eli committed his talent and passion for music to form Mariachi San Ignacio for the St. Ignatius Catholic Church services. Mariachi San Ignacio performed at the Spanish language mass held at 1:00 pm on Sundays and played traditional Mariachi style liturgical music. He took great joy and pride from the participation in Mariachi San Ignacio and recruited some of his grandchildren to play their instruments and his wife Eva to join the singers. Other St. Ignatius parishioners also brought their children to Eli, seeking opportunity for their participation with Mariachi San Ignacio, which was welcomed, as it brought youth and vitality to the group. Eli gave trumpet lessons to some of these children in his home. He learned to play the violin and mandolin. The number of voices singing along with Mariachi San Ignacio at St. Ignatius grew over time and the 1:00 pm mass became very popular. Eli was blessed with many friendships and love through Mariachi San Ignacio, which is perhaps his greatest lasting legacy apart from his own family.

Eli’s family is going to miss him very much, but they take comfort in knowing that he is resting in love in Heaven. He will be perpetually loved by his family in Heaven and Earth, and his passion and spirit will live on through his children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, as well as the countless others he touched.