Alonso Arnoldo Rubio, loving husband and father, passed away peacefully on October 15, 2020 with his son Alonso and daughter Mary by his side. He was born in Colonia Juarez, Chihuahua on June 11, 1935. The loss of his mother at the early age of seven created hardships for him and his siblings that would shape the rest of their lives. By the age of 13 he was on his own, sleeping in any available place he could find. True to his strength, courage, and zest for life he found employment anywhere he could. Soon his work ethic was recognized and he became a butcher apprentice. He loved to tell the story of how he was later challenged by the top butcher to see who could cut the most steaks in an hour. As with most things in his life, he won this competition and later became the top meat cutter at Consumers Market.
He met and fell in love with Sara who would become his wife of 68 years at La Morenita Grocery Store in Juarez, Mexico where he worked in the butcher shop and she worked at a bakery. They moved to El Paso, TX in 1968 where they purchased their forever home and opened the first Rubio’s Market in the Second Ward, and later in the 1970’s moved to their new location on Zaragoza Road. Alonso was the head “carnicero” (butcher) and Sara “la cajera” (cashier), and together they successfully ran their business until their retirement.
Alonso loved all things baseball and was a Houston Astros fan. He enjoyed a good game of Dominoes with his son-in-law Danny and his brother Alfredo – Los Tres Amigos! He made the best barbacoa, carnitas, tripitas, and chorizo. If you have ever tasted the Handi-Pac Chorizo seasoning, you have tasted a part of our Dad’s legacy. The owner of Handi-Pac came to Dad to request the recipe. In Dad’s unselfish way, he gave it away, and that helped start what is now a successful spice distributor (HAN-D-PAC).
He enjoyed traveling and never said no to an invitation if at all possible, be it traveling to California to visit with his kids, cruising the Mexican Riviera, going to the casinos in Nevada, California, New Mexico, and Texas, scuba diving with his daughter, and even water skiing trips in the Austin lakes and Colorado River. He was an outstanding cook and he ate his food and drank his beer with gusto! He always said he liked to drink a beer before a meal “para abrir el apetito,” to wet the appetite. Buen Provecho y Salud!!!
Alonso is survived by his wife Sara Rubio, his daughters Mary (Daniel) Garcia, Norma (Stanley) Rought, Sara (Garner) Warren, Araceli (Eric) DiFrancesco, Sandra Beard, Veronica (Arlona) McGill, Olga Rubio, step-daughters Angela Mora and Sara McGrail, his sons Alonso (Veronica) Rubio, Gustavo (Celia) Rubio, Mario Rubio, and Rene (Yvonne) Rubio, his sister Antonia Munoz, and brothers Gilberto Rubio and Alfredo Rubio. He is also survived by his many grandchildren, great-grandchildren and one great-great-grandchild. He is preceded in death by his brothers Johnny Rubio, Lorenzo (Negro) Rubio, and his sister Lupe Garcia.
The memory of those we love stays in our hearts forever! We will cherish the memories and be glad we had the opportunity to experience them and then smile.
Live streaming of the service will be available on Wednesday, October 21, 2020 at 6:55 p.m. on Facebook under “Hillcrest Funeral Home, El Paso.”
