HECTOR C. HINOJOSA April 30, 1932 – June 8, 2026
We mourn the loss of Hector C. Hinojosa, beloved husband, father, uncle, grandfather, great grandfather, teacher, and friend. He passed away peacefully surrounded by family on June 8, 2026. He was 94 years old. Hector was born in Laredo, Texas, on April 30, 1932, to Placida and Crisoforo Hinojosa. He had three brothers and one sister when his father suddenly died 15 days before Hector graduated from high school. To help support the family, Hector found jobs when he could while completing his higher education, including the back-breaking work of picking watermelons in the fields of south Texas.
Hector would tell stories of how running into and playing with rattlesnakes in those watermelon fields was an everyday occurrence, luckily, nobody ever got bitten. Hector graduated from Martin High School in Laredo in 1950 and went on to be awarded a football scholarship to Laredo Junior College and worked his way through school at East Texas State in Commerce. Hector earned a bachelor’s degree in Elementary Education.
Hector was an athlete, emulating his older brother Dario who he always looked up to. Their dedication to athletics was fierce, he tells of when football practice was ending and they would run sprints, the coaches would always send the fastest two at a time to the locker room. Well Hector and Dario would always come first but would not go into the locker room, they always stayed and continued to run and would be the last two players to run and hit the locker room. Hector was a standout in football and basketball and was inducted into the Martin High School Hall of Fame in 2003.
In 1954, straight from graduating from college, Hector moved to Los Alamos with his wife and infant daughter and began a 35-year teaching career with the last 25 years teaching the 6th grade. One of the funnier moments was when Hector accidentally spilled gas on his trousers on his way to work, and right after he arrived in the classroom, the alarm went off to evacuate the school. It took a few minutes, but Hector realized that it was his trousers that caused the evacuation as the administration thought there was a gas leak in the school. Hector also taught drivers’ education to many teenagers and trailing spouses in Los Alamos. Hector recalls one such student that he asked if they were confident so far with their driving, and the student replied “yes,” and then Hector replied “good, can we get off the sidewalk?”
One of the things most of Hector’s students remember was listening to Paul Harvey every morning and learning how to listen, comprehend and write notes about what they were hearing. He had students many years later tell him that they continued to listen to Paul Harvey and “now you know the rest of the story.”
Hector also attended the University of New Mexico and earned a master’s degree in Linguistics. Hector’s family grew to one daughter and three sons, and they fully enjoyed all the outdoor activities northern New Mexico had to offer, including camping and fishing. This tradition continued over the years as the family added more generations.
Hector’s athletic abilities didn’t skip any generations as his offspring were outstanding Hilltoppers in many sports and through multiple generations.
Hector and Norma have attended Immaculate Heart of Mary Church since 1954. His legacy is grand and he will be missed by many. His sense of humor and kind personality continued up until the moment the Lord called him. May God bless him and keep him in everlasting Grace. Hector is survived by his wife of 74 years (Norma), children, Hilda Hinojosa Hall (Vaux), Hector A Hinojosa (Cathy), Rico Hinojosa (Deborah), Hugo Hinojosa (Lori), 9 grandkids, and 13 great grandkids.
Please visit www.riverafamilyfunerlahome.com to leave stories, pictures and messages for the Hinojosa family to cherish.