Obituary: Agapito “Pete” Reyes Franco III

April 23, 1985 – June 18, 2019

Our brother, Agapito “Pete” Reyes Franco III, passed away early this week. In this day of cell phones, social media, and Facebook, we kept up with each other on a daily basis. Our group texts were a daily dose of family time.

Pete loved big, loud Peterbilt’s. He loved being on the road, traveling across the country, he kept “them big wheels rollin”. His latest venture was operating cranes in the West Texas oil rigs. He was proud to have received his operator’s certificate. When asked if he had remembered to thank God, his reply was, “Oh yeah, me and the Big Guy, we’re good!”

We can proudly say we’re beyond blessed to have had him as our protector, our sounding board, our best friend, our straight up go to guy, in short, he was our everything. Our hearts have been shattered and will never be the same. Though years may pass, this void will never be filled, we will wait patiently to see him again someday.

Our brother had a beautiful soul. It was almost as if God gave his spirit an extra sprinkle of grace. Pete was always happy and always wore a smile on his face, ask anyone-they’ll tell you the same.

Pete never met a stranger. In the past few days we have received countless messages from a multitude of his friends. Each one tells a beautiful story of the impact Pete made on their lives.

Pete didn’t let hardships affect his goodness. He simply kept moving forward. It didn’t matter how many times he was knocked down, he always moved forward. Pete always saw the good in everything, even when we couldn’t. That is one of the lessons we have learned.

We believe that Pete must have completed his purpose and God wanted him back. Pete taught us to stay happy regardless of what was going on, he taught us to move on, he taught us to have patience and he taught us that you don’t have to have everything to have everything. We learned to enjoy this life even if it just meant having a beer with a good friend.

Surviving him to keep his memory alive are his parents, Juanita Reyes Franco and Agapito Castillo Franco Jr., his daughters, Cloey and Carley Villanueva, his baby brother, Franco Franco & wife Arielle, his older sisters, Lydia Dela Rosa, Ellie Lawson & husband Keith, and Lisa Franco-Hays & wife Carol.

His nieces and nephews, Joseph and Moses Dela Rosa, Claudia and Beth Falcon, Zoie Miller, Mia, Lily, Nathan, and Isabella Franco, Nick and Noah Hernandez, will grow up listening to us recount our stories of him.

We love you, Pete!

I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid. John 14:27

The pallbearers that will carry him to his final resting place are Carlos R Franco, Ramon Reyes Jr., Wade Cherry, Leo Torres, Brandon Casstevens, Roger Castillo, Jorge Martinez, Riche Aguero, Zeke Aguero, and Franco R Franco.

Viewing will be held 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. Saturday, June 22, and Sunday, June 23, at Nelson Funeral Chapel, Rocksprings, Texas.

Funeral services will be held at 10:00 a.m. Monday, June 24, 2019 at First Baptist Church, Rocksprings. Burial will follow in the Rocksprings Cemetery, Rocksprings, Texas.

Arrangements are under the personal care of Nelson Funeral Home of Rocksprings, Texas.