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My journey recently took me to officiate at the memorial service for my good friend, Ezequiel "Zeke" Fernandez Palacios, in San Marcos. The only thing better than a friend is an old friend. Ours was a 15-year friendship. Palacios directed that the service be held at his new home, specifically in the back yard overlooking the Texas Hill Country. My experience with funerals over the years is that a service can reveal the absolute best, and worst, in a family’s relationships. This service was no problem because all the family members loved and respected each other. My favorite family member was his sister, Nohemi Shippley, from Denver, Colorado. The Bible speaks of families.
“If anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for the immediate family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” I Timothy 5:8 (NIV)
Those are strong words. Palacios and I had a lot in common; we attended the Noonday Lions Club; both of us gave service to the nation — Infantry in Vietnam, brothers-in-arms, we knew and understood each others' hearts. “A Hero Remembered Never Dies” Palacios had come a long way from the "donkey school" days in Kenedy, Karnes County, Texas. Growing up, he pulled broom corn in Lockhart. Later Palacios earned a master’s degree from what is now Texas State University and acquired a state of Texas Teaching Certificate. He became successful in business management. All are saddened by his death. Critical to the heart of his widow, Irma, and all the Palacios family is the mention of Agent Orange. They want the world to know that they share the anguish and grief with many other families who have experienced the loss of a loved one because of the deadly toxin, Agent Orange. They supported Palacios through many difficult health issues, including two different battles with cancer, because of the effect of this toxin on his body. What a loss; yet sorrow is not forever, love is. According to our faith in Jesus Christ, Palacios is outside of time and sharing eternal life with God.
“Let not your heart be troubled! Ye believe in God also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, you may be also.” John 14:13
Jesus did not send disciples or angels to prepare our place; he went himself. Palacios and I shared many missionary trips to Mexico including the following locations: Boquillas de Carmen, San Vicente, Musquiz, Morelos/Allende, Ocampo, Piedras Negras, Acuna and Nacimiento. Palacios cared, and his friends, Joe Wester, Scotty Boecher, Tony Garza, Erasmo del Bosque, Mikee Garza and other members of Redwood Baptist church were on his Mexico journeys. My most significant memory was when he and Irma hosted Sister Sulema Lucia Vasquez, pastor of the Evangelistic Church of the Friends, from Nacimiento. This was no ordinary lady; her church was composed of the descendants of African slaves who had fled to Mexico after the American Civil War. As the years passed and crossover marriages with Kickapoo Indians and natives blended and changed with the culture of Mexico, one thing did not change, their love for Jesus. Some of the older women in the congregation could still recall bedtime lullabies sung by slaves and passed down through the generations. Palacios was touched by her faithfulness; and invited Pastor Vasquez and her sister to be guests in their home. She gave the Sunday sermon at Redwood Baptist Church. The Palacioses took them on a shopping trip to San Antonio on their way back to Mexico.
The Benediction was “turn to the person to your left and right and say, ‘Peace Go with You’; may Zeke’s life bring us all closer to our Lord.”
