Juan Ricardo Conde, Jr. Obituary
Our beloved Juan Ricardo Conde, Jr., age 89, was called to our Heavenly Father on Friday, April 12, 2024. He was preceded in death by his parents, Juan H. Conde, Sr., and Maria Margarita Danache Conde. Mr. Conde proudly served our country as a member of the United States Army.
Juan had a love for education and spent many years teaching English Language Arts at Martin Junior High School and Mendez Middle School as well as being an Assistant Principal at Dobie Middle School, Webb Middle School, and Paredes Middle School. He was also an Assistant Equipment Manager at the University of Texas at Austin, playing a pivotal role in 3 National Championships (1963, 1969, 1970); 11 SWC titles; 18 Bowls; 30-game winning streak.
Juan is survived by his loving wife, Graciela Araiza Conde; children, Celina Rebecca (P.J.), Marco Antonio, Marissa Adriana, Debbie, and Suzie; grandchildren, Emilio (Courtney), Enrique, Rebeca "Iza", Samantha, Benicio, Anissa, Julissa "Juli", and Mila; three great-grandchildren; his brother, Carlos Conde, Sr. (Macksyne); his nephew, Carlos Conde, Jr.; nieces, Carla and Carmela as well as their spouses and children.
Recitation of Holy Rosary will begin at 1:30 p.m. followed by a Memorial Mass beginning at 2:00 p.m. on Wednesday, May 1, 2024, at Our Lady of Guadalupe Catholic Church, Lydia & 9th St., Austin, Texas 78702. Mr. Conde will be inurned with military honors at 11:00 a.m. on Friday, May 3, 2024, at Calvary Catholic Cemetery, 3600 McPherson Rd., Laredo, Texas 78040.
"Your success comes from your failures."
By FRANCISCO E. JIMENEZ
Staff Writer
reporter@sbnewspaper.com
Most athletes dream of one day being a part of a championship team, Juan Conde, Jr. has done that … three times, albeit not as an athlete.
Conde, a 1954 graduate of San Benito High School, is one of the very few people who have been privileged enough to share the sideline with the great Darrell Royal, legendary head coach of the Texas Longhorns in the 1950s and 60s and whose name adorns the team’s stadium.
“I went to Landrum Elementary and San Benito High School,” said Conde. “I played sports with Bobby Morrow and all of those guys. We were on the same football, track, and basketball teams.”
After graduating from high school, Conde attended the University of Texas at Austin, where he received a Bachelor of Science and Education in 1964 and a Masters in Education in 1976.
End of news article.
Mike Ellis, Billy Schott, Allen David, Mike Powers, Dennis Farris, Jim Craig Hess, Jeff Crozier, Mark Lord, and Juan Conde
Juan Conde has passed away, but his story will live on as part of the TLSN history of Longhorn sports. Juan always had a special spot in Coach Royal's heart, earned by hard work and Juan's loyalty to the Longhorns. Juan was part of Royal's inner circle of friends for life.
TLSN will share Juan's whole story on the TLSN website. Juan touched so many parts of the Longhorn nation that he competed against Tommy Nobis for written Longhorn sports history on the website. Two years ago, I asked him to name the meanest, toughest players during Royal's years as coach. He answered :
JUAN CONDE - 5/30/2022
Billy, I Enjoyed Reading The Latest Edition Of Your Newsletter. DKR hired me in 1959, and I remained on his staff until 1976 when he retired. I Met The Talbert Brothers When I Worked In The Equipment Room As An Assistant To Mr. Jim Blaylock. The Meanest, Toughest Of The Talbert Brothers, In My Opinion, Were Don And Diron. Charley Talbert Was Also Tough And Mean But A Little Milder Than His Two Brothers. DKR Once Said To Me, “ If He Had To Walk Through A Dark Alley In A Neighborhood Known For Its High Crime, He Would Be Sure That Don And Diron, Mike Dowdle, Tommy Nobis, And Don Allen Would Accompany Him. DKR said he would be confident and make it safe from one end of the alley to the other end. I Believe He Would Indeed Be Safe With These Tough Hombres As His Bodyguards. Juan Conde
Here is the link.
https://texas-lsn.squarespace.com/juans-dkr-meanandtough
Billy,
Thanks for the notice of Juan Conde’s passing. Juan was an important contributor to the UT culture that DKR established. He took care of us- not just clean socks and jocks, but a deep friendship and a helping hand whenever needed. Juan, Chris Gilbert, and I were brothers!!!
Juan will be missed. My prayers are with his family. Someday, we will join him in God’s Grace with Longhorns in green pastures!.
Hook’em, Corby Robertson
JUAN CONDE (read with a sense of humor)
In the photo to the right, Juan is coveting in the background behind President Nixon, smiling on their face with eyes focused on the plague. What other evidence does the Longhorn Nation need? He is guilty of premeditated National Championship plague stealing.
Juan says, “Unfortunately, I do not have the 1969 Texas/Arkansas Shootout game 🏈 ball. As you recall, the weather in Arkansas on that particular day was miserable; it was cold, rainy, and some sleet. So I had to replace many wet footballs 🏈 with dry footballs. I placed the wet footballs in a duffle bag. So there were many games 🏈 used in the game. After the game, I took them to the locker room and placed them with the rest of the equipment. I never considered keeping a game ball, even though there were several. I was too excited about us winning the game. When we returned to Austin, Mr. Blaylock and I put all game equipment in the equipment room, including the wet game 🏈. That's the last I saw them. Now, I wish I had kept one.
THE EYES TELL THE TRUTH (read with a smile and a sense of humor.)
Bill Little, the Texas SID, has accused Juan of confiscating the plaque President Nixon presented to Coach Royal in the locker room after the Arkansas game. In the photo to the right, Juan slithers in the background with a smile and eyes focused on the plague. What other evidence does the Longhorn Nation need? He is guilty of premeditated National Championship plague stealing.
Juan refutes this claim, saying, “I don’t have it.” Juan swears on all the Longhorn footballs he has stored in his closet that he overheard President Nixon tell Coach Royal that since the plaque had not yet been engraved, he was taking it back to Washington to have it engraved. Juan says That's the last time I saw the plaque”. “ And to think, of the twenty-plus years I was the assistant equipment manager, I could have amassed many, many collectible items pertaining to Texas Longhorn 🏈 football, but unfortunately, I didn't. “ Juan needs to come clean and confess his lust for the plaque to Mike Cave.
Juan Conde
Mack Brown with Spike Dykes
This is a cartoon depiction of Spike Dikes, who kicked some high school boys off the bus in the middle of the night due to their bad behavior. This incident didn't sit well with the parents, and the image above illustrates Spike's release from his first coaching job.
Billy, I just read the article about Spike Dykes and the bus incident. Spike was a character. One incident that happened at Texas involved Spike and DKR. Spike did not like to wear socks when he dressed for practice or games. DKR noticed that, especially when he wore shorts. One day before practice, Coach Royal stepped into the room equipment room, which he had never done before. He pulled me aside and asked me if I issued socks to Spike. I said yes. Coach Royal told me to tell Spike that he needed to start wearing his socks. When Spike came in for practice, I told him Coach Royal wanted him to wear socks for practice and games. Spike stood silently for a few minutes. Then he tells me to cut the socks right below the ankles where only the top part of the sock is visible. I told him I couldn’t do that; I’d get in trouble with Coach Royal. He said he’ll never know unless you tell him. So I cut them, and he only wore half socks from that day forward. And Coach Royal never found out about Spike Dykes and the half socks.
Juan Conde
Juan Conde was part of Joshua Yeoman’s life
For Joshua, the internet opened up the world. It was a place where he could talk and communicate with others about his favorite subject -family. Almost all his conversations centered around his dad and granddad. He wanted me to share anything and everything I knew about his parents. Pat Kelly and Juan Conde were also part of his internet life; there were others. All loved him and offered Joshua a chance to grow as an individual.
I am so sorry to learn of Juan Conde's passing. I can say without fear of contradiction that Juan was the best friend of a student
football manager at UT ever had.
Juan was the "go to" person I depended on when I was a manager 1960-64. Juan's boss, Jim Blaylock (we called him Mr. Jim) didn't
suffer fools gladly. He was very efficient in that he guarded all the equipment like it was his own. I could ask Juan for a new pair of socks for one of the players, and he'd get them in a few minutes. Ask Mr. Jim and you faced a cross-examination of who needed them and why. In four years I never saw Mr. Jim smile.
When I met Juan for two-a-days in August 1960, I was wearing orange boots, the color orange of the uniforms at that time. The first thing he asked me when I introduced myself was. "Where's your horse?" That became his friendly comment to me every time we met. I was so glad to get to see him again at the 60th reunion of the 1963 national championship team He was on a walker but still had his sense of humor. Before I could say anything, he asked, "Hey, Lightning, where's your horse?"
ROY A. JONES II
Senior Manager 1963
Juan says “I will miss “Large Larry”! When he was a student manager, Larry was always a big help to me in the equipment room. When we traveled to away games, Larry was the only student manager who would always ride with me in the equipment truck. One trip I’ll never forget is when he and I drove the equipment truck to the Sun Bowl in El Paso. On that long,long drive, we got to know each other real well and became better friends. RIP mi buen amigo!”
Juan and Reggie Grob
Juan Conde says, "I was already working as assistant equipment manager when Reggie passed away from heat exhaustion. I also recall Frank Medina tending him vigorously and the arrival of the ambulance. This incident took place at the old practice field across the creek and across from memorial stadium, where practices were held. Coach Royal took Reggie's death very hard."
The death of Reggie and Mike was a wake-up call for all who are associated with sports. Doctors, led by the American Medical Association, began immediate research on the effects of heat on the human body. Within a year, Universities mandated more liquids be served to athletes during workouts and games.
Juan Conde shares a story about the Longhorn “Jet” connection. He says, “Billy, a fact not well known. Every year during the off-season, three of the former Texas players on the Jets’ team would workout at DKR Texas Memorial Stadium.
Juan said, “I would assign them a locker in the Freshmen side of the former Texas dressing room. I would also issue them workout gear. The one fact that I will always remember is when they were ready to leave for training camp, Jim Hudson would always ask me for a pair of our white travel game pants for each of them. He told me they didn’t like the white game pants issued by the Jets. He said they would place the green stripes on the pants. This ritual would occur every year while they played for the Jets, including their Super Bowl game. With Coach Royal’s permission, I would give Jim the game pants. I never asked Jim why they didn’t like the white game pants the Jets issued them.”
Billy,
Thanks to Coach Akers, I was able to get to know so many men like you who were what Coach wanted to recruit - good football players who were good people. I cherish the time spent with Coach and many who responded to his passing.
It was a privilege to serve as producer/host of his show and an honor to call him a friend.
Juan Conde
Coach Akers