John Henry Gendron

Visitation will be from 5 - 7 pm Monday, July 17, 2023 with a rosary service at 7:00 pm at Memorial Funeral Chapel in Bryan. Funeral service will be held at 10:00 am Tuesday, July 18 at the funeral home. Interment will follow at Mt. Calvary Cemetery.

He is survived by his daughter Cynthia Louise Albarracin of Bryan and her husband Fermin; his son Patrick Gendron of College Station and his wife Alma DeJesus; his granddaughters Tiffany DeJesus and Madeleine DeJesus Gendron both of whom are avid tomato lovers; and his aunt and godmother Sister Alphonse Louise, OP (Aunt Helen) of Amityville, NY.

He is preceded in death by his parents, John Richard Gendron and Rosalie (Ruby) DeLuke Gendron; brothers, Raymond Joseph Gendron, Richard Charles Gendron and George Alphonse Gendron. The second of four brothers, John was born in St. Albans, Queens County, in New York City. He grew up in Levittown and Massapequa on Long Island, NY, where, as a teenager, he worked in a garden nursery where his love of plants was germinated.

While in the Seabees he was stationed in Gulfport, Mississippi in the aftermath of Hurricane Camille and in Puerto Rico. John comes from a family of military service – his grandfather Alphonse Gendron was a career Navyman and his father was stationed at the Bryan Army Airbase during WWII. His oldest brother Raymond served in the Navy and his younger brother Richard served overseas in Vietnam. After finishing active duty in the Navy in 1970, he followed his parents who retired in his mother’s hometown of Bryan, Texas.

John raised his two children, Patrick and Cynthia, in Houston where he worked as an elevator mechanic by trade. As Houston was booming in the 70’s and 80’s, he became a skilled trouble shooter in the elevator business and his prowess as a mechanic took him to fix elevators in Cuba at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base. John was a proud father, son, grandfather, brother, and farmer. John took great pride in his two children, one a CNA caregiver and the other an attorney, both farmers. He would be especially comforted that his daughter took such great care of him in his final years.

John descends from a long line of farmers on his mother’s side of the family who emigrated from Sicily to Texas in the 1880s and 1890s. John and his children carried on the family tradition working together on the tomato farm in a common family endeavor. In 1984, John founded Gendron Tomato Farm in the north part of Brazos County in the community of Tabor. As a tomato farmer, he had to be a mechanic, carpenter, electrician, plumber, welder, machinist, and chemist. He designed and invented all types of specialized plows geared toward the goal of having the first ripe tomatoes of the season at the market. At the Pick Your Own Farm, which was established because of hail-kissed tomatoes, John was always there for his customers who came from far and wide to pick from his 7,000 + tomato plants and other vegetables. On cold days in January and February, John could be found in his greenhouse listening to the thundering voice of Pavarotti while transplanting tomato seedlings that he germinated himself by the thousands. John was a founding member of the Brazos Valley Farmers Market in 1997, an officer in the organization, and an anchor member with truckloads of homegrown vine ripe tomatoes every Saturday morning. John’s tomatoes garnered notoriety well before they were mentioned in the June 2017 on-line issue of Bon Appétit.

Babbo, as Madeleine named him, loved being at the farm where he devoted his life to growing the best tasting tomatoes in Texas. Our family finds comfort in knowing he is in heaven growing pomodori.

Pallbearers are his niece Wendy Young, great-nephew Christian Brummer, nephew Juan Ramirez and the Tomato Planting Crew of Sammy Palazzo, Vince Palazzo, Jr. and Justin Palazzo.

Honorary Pallbearers are his nephew and godson Raymond Gendron, Jr. and niece Jenny Gendron.

Our family wants to thank his wonderful caregivers Ronnie, Amy, Krystal and Linda.