Telesforo “Polo” Gonzales was peacefully welcomed into eternal rest by Our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ on Tuesday, October 2, 2018 at Houston Hospice with his children at his bedside. Polo was born on August 18, 1934 in Rocksprings, Texas to Juan and Victoria Gonzales and was baptized into the Catholic Faith. He was born seventh in line of 13 siblings and as they grew, all looked up to him as the patriarch of the family long before his parents’ passing. His family moved to Port Arthur, Texas at the young age of eleven when his dad was hired by Texaco Refinery. Polo graduated in 1954 from Thomas Jefferson High School and shortly thereafter, married and started a family. He was a resident of Kingwood, Texas and in the end, he called Cleveland, Texas his home.

His first job began at the age of 13 setting up pins before the automatic pinsetter was installed at the local bowling alley in Port Arthur. It was at that alley that he became an avid bowler. Polo joined many bowling leagues in each of the towns he lived. He hit the big 300 several times and could teach anyone how to bowl a good game. He was a salesman by trade most of his life working at Thom Mcan Shoes in Port Arthur and Galveston, Jim Walter Homes and managed Levine’s Department Stores in Corpus Christi and sold new GM and Ford cars in Port Arthur, Houston, El Campo, and San Antonio. He was often top seller of the month at every company where he was employed. When his boys were teenagers, Polo owned his own janitorial service and even after he put in many hours at his day job, he cleaned, waxed and buffed the floors of fabric stores in Harris and surrounding counties with the help of his family. On weekends, the boys scattered before he got home to load the station wagon with janitorial supplies leaving him to call upon his siblings and their spouses for help. In his golden years, he owned his own remodeling/home improvement business and was the contractor for several years. He worked until he could no longer walk without pain at which point he found it much easier to just go buy scratch offs at the corner store or head to Coushatta with hopes of hitting it big one day. He always managed to win nice little pots and looked forward to buying more tickets, going to the horse track, or playing casino slots. He loved to play golf and kept his clubs in the trunk so that at any given time, he was ready to either play 18 or just stop to hit balls to perfect his swing. Polo was a gifted artist and could draw or paint portraits much to the very likeness of his subjects. Family was most important to him. He loved to sing and attend dances, weddings or quinceañeras. His memory was sharp and without the aid of a calendar, he would be the first to call each family member early in the morning on their birthday to sing Las Mananitas and it’s a long song at 6 am. He enjoyed the Texas Hill Country towns of Kerrville and Rocksprings where anyone named “Gonzales” was related to him and would tell hardship and heartfelt stories of their times growing up as cousins. He helped to spearhead family reunions in Kerrville and enjoyed seeing his large, extended family together at every opportunity. Polo never met a stranger and anytime he met or visited someone, he always started off the conversation with a joke. Most of which cannot be repeated in the presence of children. Many a time, he had to be stopped before he ever reached the punchline. He often said he was going to live to be a hundred and get shot by a jealous husband. Yes, he was a lady’s man. In fact, one of his last events was just a few weeks ago when he tried to escape from a rehab facility in his wheelchair with a much older lady and her chair walker in tow behind him. Both were caught before getting too far and monitors were quickly placed on both of their wrists. On Saturday and Sunday mornings, one could find him with his son Walt, listening to Kris Kristofferson’s greatest hits playing on Walt’s playlist while enjoying a hot bowl of Menudo. When the entire album was finished he would say, “Play it again”. On Polo’s last Sunday before entering Houston Hospice, Walt peacefully played and sang the entire album in his ear, twice.

Polo is preceded in death by his parents, and his eldest son Michael Wayne Gonzales. He is survived by his two sons; Edward “Eddie” Gonzales of League City, Texas and Walter Gonzales (Berni) of Cleveland, Texas, and his daughter, Terry Vasichko (David) of Texas City, his only surviving sibling, Domelia Gonzales of Beaumont and his seven grandchildren, eighteen great grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and numerous cousins.

A Memorial Service will be at 1:00 pm on Saturday, October 6, 2018 at the Crowder Funeral Home in La Marque with Father Chacko Puthumayil officiating.