Jorge Vargas DeLeon

Jorge Vargas DeLeon, 87, passed away on September 23, 2026, in San Antonio, Texas.

Jorge was born on February 21, 1939, in Asherton, Texas, to Jose DeLeon and Rosa Vargas DeLeon. He was the oldest of five children: Jorge, Elvira, Eddie, Eloy, and Lucy.

His early life was one of movement, hard work, and family. As the son of migrant workers, Jorge traveled throughout the country with his parents and siblings as they followed the work wherever it took them. Being the oldest came with responsibility, and from a young age Jorge was always looking for ways to earn money and help his parents support the family.

His sister Lucy remembered that Jorge was always hustling and finding a way to make a few dollars. When his father brought gum home from the Wrigley company, Jorge would take it out and sell it on the street. He also had a shoeshine box and earned money shining shoes. Whatever he made, he gave to his parents to help provide for his younger brothers and sisters.

Jorge also had an adventurous side from an early age. He was an excellent swimmer and became an avid snorkeler and scuba diver at a time when diving equipment was far more primitive than it is today. He explored lakes whenever he had the opportunity, diving not only for the adventure of it, but also searching for lost or discarded items he might recover, collect, or sell. It was another reflection of the curiosity, independence, and resourcefulness that would remain with him throughout his life.

Long before he had a trade or a steady job, Jorge had already learned the value of work, responsibility, exploration, and looking after family. Those early years helped shape the toughness, ingenuity, generosity, and determination that would stay with him throughout his life.

Eventually, Jorge settled in Chicago, Illinois, where he would live for approximately 25 years. It was there that he discovered what would become a lifelong passion and trade: auto bodywork.

Jorge left school after the tenth grade to pursue his trade, learning through hard work, experience, and his own two hands. He eventually worked at the Ford Motor Company and would continue working in auto body repair and refinishing for nearly 50 years. He took great pride in his craft and belonged to a generation of men who could look at something damaged and figure out how to make it whole again.

Jorge married young and became the father of four children: Veronica DeLeon, Rose DeLeon, Carlos DeLeon, and Steve DeLeon.

Life and work eventually brought him back home to Texas, where he later welcomed his youngest son, Charlie DeLeon.

But Jorge became a father in more ways than biology alone. Throughout his life, he played an important and fatherly role in the lives of MaryEsther, Guadalupe, Lydia, Juan, Robert, and Antoinette. Robert and Antoinette were Lydia’s children, but the bond they shared with Jorge went far beyond traditional family titles. Like the others, they knew and loved him simply as Dad.

Jorge later married Mary DeLeon, his wife and companion in the later chapters of his life.

If there was one constant throughout Jorge’s 87 years, besides family and hard work, it was music.

His taste knew few boundaries. He loved the sounds of Chuck Berry and Fats Domino, the timeless voice of Frank Sinatra, the unmistakable music of Alfredo Jimenez, and so many others. But closest to his heart was Conjunto—the music born from the same South Texas soil that he was.

Music was more than something Jorge listened to. It was part of his life. Over the years, he crossed paths with and befriended countless musicians, and wherever there was good music, good conversation, and people enjoying life, Jorge was usually not far away.

Those who knew Jorge will remember a man with a kind heart and a tremendous sense of humor. He was a jokester who loved making people laugh. He was generous to a fault and the kind of man who would give someone the shirt off his back if they needed it.

Like every man who lives a long life, Jorge had triumphs and regrets, good days and difficult ones. He never pretended to be perfect. But through it all, he remained a glass-half-full kind of man. He looked forward more often than he looked backward and somehow continued to believe that tomorrow could always bring something better.

That optimism was one of his greatest gifts.

Jorge touched more lives than he probably ever realized. His story lives on not simply in names and dates, but in his children, his family, the people he helped, the friends he made, the jokes he told, the cars he repaired, the music he loved, and the countless memories carried by those fortunate enough to have known him.

Jorge was preceded in death by his parents, Jose and Rosa DeLeon; his sister, Elvira “Vera” Villarreal; and his son, Steve DeLeon and his stepdaughter, Guadalupe Torres.

He is survived by his wife, Mary DeLeon; his brothers, Eddie DeLeon and Eloy DeLeon; his sister, Lucy DeLeon Jimenez; his children, Veronica DeLeon, Rose DeLeon, Carlos DeLeon, and Charlie DeLeon; and the many family members and loved ones whose lives he helped shape, including MaryEsther, Lydia, Juan, Robert, and Antoinette, who knew and loved him as Dad.

He also leaves behind grandchildren and great-grandchildren across his extended family, many of whom lovingly knew him simply as Grandpa. Some were connected to him by blood, others by marriage, and still others by the bonds built over a lifetime of love and family. To Jorge, those distinctions mattered far less than the relationships themselves, and each held a place in his heart.

He also leaves behind extended family, friends, musicians, and generations of people with stories that will continue to be told long after his passing.

His was not a perfect life.

It was a full life.

And it was uniquely his.

The music may be a little quieter without him here, but for everyone who loved Jorge, it will never completely stop.

Sleep well, Dad. We’ll see you on the other side.