José Angel Montalvo was called home on August 24, 2020, at the age of 62. José was a man that touched many lives and was known by many names. He was a son, brother, nephew, uncle, husband, father and a beloved HoHo. How does one condense a man that loved and lived so big into a few small paragraphs?
José was preceded in death by a host of loved ones, including his father, Andres Montalvo and his mother Gorgonia Montalvo.
José left behind a very large extended family stretching across four generations … literally hundreds of precious loved ones! He loved all of them fiercely, but his prayer remained in his heart that everyone would surrender to Jesus Christ. The host of friends is vast, too many to count.
He leaves behind his family that he loved wholeheartedly.
His wife for life, Teresa
And their children and their children,
Preston, Ashley, Trenton and Titus
Leslie and Hunter and their newest addition arriving in 2021
Damita and Olivia
José understood the basic philosophy of breaking bread with others and practiced it with unfailing generosity. He loved to cook! A few of his favorite dishes included chili rellenos, pork chops and tacos! Sitting at his table just might mean you had gained a lifetime friend. Hospitality ran deep in his blood and if you showed up at his table, he was going to be sure you had a drink and were well fed!
José very much accepted Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. He believed he was crucified on a cross and was resurrected and now sits at the right hand of God. José and Teresa had both met Jesus before they met each other. They knew they wanted to raise children that would love and serve the Lord. She had been born into a Southern Baptist family and José had met Jesus in a most powerful encounter in a Pentecostal Spanish speaking fellowship. The first time he took her to visit his beloved church she kind of freaked out and wanted to call off the engagement! José was not concerned and told her they could raise the children Baptist. In due time in the early years of their marriage they merged into a very solid belief system that embraced more grace and forgiveness, and a little less religion. What they both believed was shaped and developed by the potters hand and they remained steadfast on a united front until the end of their marriage, that to be absent from the body was to be present with Christ.
José, was an incredible disco dancer and John Travolta did not have anything on him. He did indeed still have the white silk scarf he had worn, and he was proud of his skills and moves. All the children grew up knowing this fact and would give him a hard time when they heard ‘Stayin’ Alive’ by the Bee Gees. But José had made a radical shift and leaving the 70’s behind and as the 80’s were nearing the end, José discovered dancing before the Lord was even better than the disco era.
Music is one of the most powerful things that can move our emotions to a new place. Some songs simply become a life altering moment in our heart and no matter how many years pass when you hear that song again, when you knew you had encountered the living God, it marks you! José became a marked man in a new era of new worship music that was being released into the atmosphere.
Borrowing a few lines from Matt Redman sums up Jose’s philosophies on His God and dancing…..
“I will dance I will sing to be mad for my King
Nothing Lord is hindering the passion in my soul
I will dance I will sing to be mad for my King
Nothing Lord is hindering the passion in my soul
And I’ll become even more undignified than this
Some would say its foolishness but
I’ll become even more undignified than this
Yes, Lord”
Today his family very much believes he is alive and dancing on the streets of gold totally healed, restored and is watching with all of the Saints……and waiting for us!
“Therefore we also, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”
Hebrews 12:1-2 NKJV
José always welcomed the opportunity for fellowship, holding an open door policy for anyone that needed a blessing or words of encouragement. Words of counsel and wisdom just flowed out of him. He did not sugar-coat the truth! He never met a stranger. And he and his wife totally embraced Narnia time. If you have had the opportunity to really be in their company meant you possibly lost all awareness of time…. Eternity is forever and always; clocks do not exist. Eternity is the greatest love story ever written!
José became a big fan of Bruce Lee when he was a little kid growing up. Any opportunity he had to watch the old movies he would and purposed in his heart that when he grew up, he would learn how to defend himself and those close to him. By 1976 the first Rocky Balboa movie hit the big screen and he was hooked. He was a Rocky fan for life!
He completed his black belt in Tae Kwan Do, shortly after he met Teresa. After working long hours, he would come home and lift weights – keeping his end goal in mind. He enjoyed having someone hold a board and kick it out of their hands. He especially enjoyed showing young children this skill, it never failed to fascinate them. He knew moves that could leave you temporarily blind. He understood the absolute control, and responsibility required to obsess hands that could do much damage. He treated his hands as though they were a loaded weapon. And never wavered in being a man under control.
Jose was a working man. A man filled with the American dream and was not afraid of the hard work it took to make his come true. At the ripe age of 6 he developed a knack for shining shoes until they shined like a new penny. He landed a job working for Mr. Kennedy as a young teenager. His new boss even co-signed for his first vehicle, hence, began his avid collection of fast cars.
His next job would find him working at Whites Mines. He quickly became one of the best equipment operators and he could gage and load a truck with incredible precision. He loved his job and continued through the courtship with Teresa, two years into his marriage an opportunity presented itself and it was a game changer. It would open a way that would forever change his career path for the remainder of his life. Teresa and José had met a man that saw something unique and offered him an opportunity to come to work for The Western Company of North America. The dedicated men (and you know who you are) that came along side Jose in those early years remained faithful until the very end! (Thank You!)
The first day of training, José walked into a room full of men and was standing next to another gentlemen – he glanced around the room and looked the man in the face and said, “well it looks like you and me are going to be Rock Stars!” Another connection had been made and he quickly began working his way up and became the District Trainer of The Western Co. of North America. With a solid decade under his belt the oil business was about to shift, and a job change was about to present itself again.
He kept the roads hot driving a truck for Dominoes. He was hired on as a Driver Trainer with Dominos National Commissary. He earned the “One Million Mile Drive – Accident Free.” award. But perhaps one of the best things he discovered while those miles were being accumulated was hot wings! It was a new era and the popularity grew rapid and would remain one of his favorites.
The oil industry was shifting once again, and he was a “wanted man!” Weatherford International became the next leg on his journey. He served in several positions, field supervisor, district trainer, and safety manager.
Frac Tech was a fast growing company that sought him out and José hopped across the highway and served as their corporate safety director and in a seven month window became instrumental in the implementation and with proper training was able to drastically turn the tide of their TRIR from 15.8 to 2.1. Saving men’s lives and keeping a team safe was a mission that Jose was called to. He did what he was hired to do and traveled back down the highway, back again to Weatherford International and became a “key holder” and was the last to go as the company was closing their doors.
Rhino Chemical International was a short leg on the journey to his final job at CIG Logistics. He spent a season flying back and forth to North Dakota and Wyoming and changing the atmosphere! He strongly disliked the bitter cold and really wanted to be back in Texas and because he had cleaned house up north he travelled back to Texas and finished up his oil career in West Texas.
The times were shifting again and in the early spring of this year he was more than ready to volunteer for a lay-off …. he felt really strong about possibly preserving a position for another man that needed the income more than himself and felt very strong that it was the least he could do in the unprecedented oil crash that was on our heels.
His most fulfilling job yet, was about to unfold and he referred to it as his “early retirement.” Being Ho Ho to Trenton and Titus and taking care of them filled his heart with joy! He was anticipating the arrival of the newest addition to his Grand-Loves. José embraced his family in these last months and finished his race here on earth with a yes in his heart and was willing to step up and just be available for whatever his family needed. His wife nor his children or grands could have possibly known what was just around the curve. José and Teresa had an intense vision that their children would stand on their shoulders and go further and faster than they did. They together embraced family and together accepted the calling to parent children. The legacy would be passed to their children and their children. José was a family man! Redemption is a sweet story and God himself orchestrated these last months for them to be filled with precious memories that stacked up on a daily occurrence. The grands would come and stay for days at a time on the farm.
José had a passion for cars and loved a “good deal”. He understood cars and did basic mechanics in the early years as a side job. And as anyone would tell you any car new or old was never ready to roll until he added finishing touches! And strong was his opinion about how a car should look! His eyes and ears were always open and he became a great wheeler and dealer.
José met Teresa McInroe, the woman he knew from the first date he would call his wife. They were married on August 29, 1980; Ricky had officially found his Lucy. A family man in his heart and ready to grow his legacy the two enlarged their family. A son, his namesake, Jose would call him, was born on January 12, 1987, Preston Blair. A daughter that would forever melt her daddy’s heart followed on March 19, 1990, Leslie Rene’. The two thought their family was complete. And suddenly with no warning the opportunity to say yes to God and adopt two precious little girls changed their life instantly overnight. They embraced the simplicity that they were not starting over but adding an addition to their family! Damita Destinee and Olivia Mirabella became Montalvo’s! José and Teresa have a host of spiritual children that drifted in and out of their home for four decades and it never really occurred to them to keep a count!
José loved his earthly home. He believed that investing in his property was an investment in his future and his children’s future. They named the property “Green Acres”, and knew it was the place to be. The farm officially became “Acres Verde”, a place of restoring tired and weary souls. They knew many would come to this spot and be healed.
“The Lord is my Shepard [to feed, to guide, and to shield me], I shall not want. He lets me
lie down in green pastures ; He leads me beside the still and quiet waters. he refreshes and
restores my soul (life); He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
Psalms 23:1-3 AMP
His final wishes were for his memory to remain within the roots of his favorite spot. A private celebration in Jose’s honor was held on Sunday evening August 30, 2020 in the pastures of Acres Verde, often referred to as the back forty.
“These are the days of Elijah,
Declaring the word of the Lord
And these are the days of Your servant Moses,
Righteousness being restored.
And though these are days of great trial,
Of famine and darkness and sword,
Still, we are the voice in the desert crying
“Prepare ye the way of the Lord!”
Behold He comes riding on the clouds,
Shining like the sun at the trumpet call,
Lift your voice, it’s the year of jubilee,
And out of Zion’s hill salvation comes.”
– Don Marsh and Robin Mark
“Those who turn from the truth get what they deserve, but a good person receives a sweet reward.”
Proverbs 14:14 TPT
José never turned from the truth and received many sweet rewards, people, relationships, release of truth into and out of his life. I asked God what He would say about José. I heard two words, goodness and excellence. José walked in doing good, working good and achieving good. Excellence is seen in the order of things at his land, house, family. Even the brick posts and fence rails are established in excellence. Thanks José” – Pastor Kirk Horton
To send a flower arrangement to the family of Jose Angel Montalvo, please click here to visit our Sympathy Store.
Anyone wishing to donate towards the memorial garden in the back forty in his memory can go by Community National Bank & Trust and ask to make a deposit to the Jose Montalvo Memorial Account via cash or check.
You may also mail a check to the bank made payable to the same and we will deposit it for you. If electronic donations are preferred, you may use their preferred Person to Person payment method (Quickpay for CNB&T).
The family will cherish for a lifetime the stories, memories, and kind words. These along with video clips or any photos of Jose’ may be emailed to:
You may send cards to:
Teresa Montalvo and Family
P.O. Box 957
Mineral Wells, TX 76068
