John Joseph Aguirre Sr.

John Joseph Aguirre, Sr. (born Ruben Mendez in Brownville, Texas on July 26, 1944) was adopted by Luisa de Gracia Aguirre and Miguel Aguirre as an infant. John died Friday, August 2, 2024 in Las Cruces, New Mexico. John was raised in Houston, Texas where he attended local Houston schools and attended Allen Academy Military School, Bryan, Texas. He played trumpet and was a primary dancer on The Larry Kane show (a bandstand-like dance show). He and twins Cindy and Marcy Appel (dancing partners) among others became close friends.

John joined the United States Marine Corps on January 28, 1964. He loaded bombs on planes targeting Viet Nam on the USS Midway for one year, along with being a Brig Security Officer. He later attended Marine Security Guard School and was shipped off to the US Embassy in London, England and then to the American Consulate in Frankfurt am Main, Germany. This is where he met his wife-to-be Patricia Ann Douglas of Massachusetts and were later married at St. Sebastian Church, Frankfurt on August 17, 1968.

Returning to the United States from Germany John, was assigned to Camp Pendleton Marine Corps base until his release with an Honorable Discharge and as a Sgt. E-5.

Returning to Houston, Texas John attended the University of Houston earning a BA in Radio & Television Mass Communications while working at KHOU-TV (where he did his first live show with Face The Nation and Walter Cronkite with the returning Apollo 11 astronauts in 1969, KPRC-TV, and two Presidential press conferences - while directing/producing/editing/and camera work in various other venues. During this time his son John J. Aguirre, Jr. and daughter Tiffany Lee Aguirre were born. At this time John also became interested in photography.

After 6 years in the Houston television market, he took a position as a producer/director for the PBS station KAET at Arizona State University, Tempe. He worked on shows about public affairs and news and was given a commendation from Governor Bruce Babbitt for his creation of a bilingual cooking program for the Rocky Mountain Public Broadcasting Network. He was a fluent Spanish speaker.

He next applied for a job at CBS Television Studios, Los Angeles, where he was employed for 30 years and was one of the happiest guys in television. He loved his job! Studio work consisted of The Young and the Restless Soap Opera, The Price is Right, The Carol Burnett Show, The Bold and the Beautiful Soap Opera, Family Feud, Dinah Shore, Mike Douglas, Tim Conway, Mary Tyler Moore shows, All in the Family and Threes Company sit-coms. Also, he worked for 13 years with CBS Sports Field Work – 13 seasons of NFL Football, including 3 Super Bowls, 11 seasons of NBA Basketball, 7 seasons of PGA Golf, and NCAA Final Fours, Olympic Trials and gymnastics. He garnered five Emmy nominations for CBS On The Air (1977), The Masters Golf Tournament (1987), The Price is Right (1989), The Young and the Restless (1989), and Dennis Miller Live for HBO (1999).

John retired from CBS in 2006. He and Pat moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico where they bought their dream home and became very involved in the community. John worked for 10 years as a life guard at the Aquatic Center (in the meantime raising his grandson Dylan for 10 years). He also supported Pat as she went on to become a campaign field organizer. It was a busy, fulfilling life. Everyone liked John for his sense of humor, his fancy dancing with Pat, his beautiful woodworking of kachina dolls, oil painting, and always keeping busy by “putzing” around in the garage and watching his roses grow. His mantra “it is what it is” kept us grounded.

He leaves behind his wife Pat of almost 56 years, son John Jr., daughter Tiffany Lee Johnston, grandson Dylan Aguirre, grandson Kagan Johnston, granddaughter Jolee Johnston, brother Tony Gracia, sister-in-law Muguette Alder (Steve), sister-in-law Vanessa Gladkowski (Alan), nieces Rachel Chappelear (Daniel), Kristin Alder, Ami Murray (Rob) and good CBS friend Joe Vicens. We are all deeply saddened by the loss of this creative, loving, generous, good man as he dances his way to heaven.