Oswaldo Guadalupe Vela

Oswaldo "Ozzie" Guadalupe Vela passed away September 27, 2011. Memorial Services will be held at Levingston Funeral Home on 39th St. in Groves, Texas at 2:00pm on Saturday October 1, 2011. Ozzie was born in Kenedy, Texas on March 16, 1928 to Guadalupe Vela and Maria Charles Vela. He attended schools in Kenedy and Corpus Christi and then served in the Navy. He married his wife, Pauline "Polly" Grace Ames on December 13, 1947, whom he met while stationed in the Navy at Green Cove Springs, Florida. They lived in Port Arthur for fifty years and then moved to Houston in March 2005. He served in the Army Reserve Band and preformed in the Corpus Christi Symphony Orchestra while attending college there. He graduated from Del Mar Jr. College in Corpus Christi and the University of Texas in Austin earning his Bachelor in Music. He also attended Sam Houston State Teachers College earning a Masters Degree in Education and a Masters in History from Lamar University. Ozzie's life was devoted to music and his family. He taught instrumental music for 30 years and Social Studies for 4 years in Port Arthur Independent School District. He loved to visit the French Quarter in New Orleans to view the artists and their works and listen to the jazz musicians. He was a member of the United Methodist Church. He became involved in church and community activities including the Port Arthur Teachers Association, the Mexican Heritage Society, and the Texas Art Museum Society. While he was president of the teachers' organization, teachers began to received Social Security benefits. He also held private music lessons in his home, directed the choir at Lakeview United Methodist Church, and preformed with his string bass in the Beaumont Symphony Orchestra. Upon his retirement he enjoyed lessons in fine art at Art Clubs and Beaumont's Lamar University. Before his death he suffered from Alzheimer's Disease. He was preceded in death by his parents, Guadalupe Vela and Maria Charles Vela, his stepfather Cruz P. Valdez, and his brother Arnulfo Valdez. He is survived by his wife Pauline "Polly" Vela of sixty three years; six children and their spouses, Jeffrey of Gautier, Mississippi, Michael(Patricia) of Houma, Louisiana, Deborah(Brian Kelly) of Houston, Texas, Wesley(Terri) of Sugarland, Texas, Lizabeth(John Trimble) of Raleigh, North Carolina, and Gregory of San Antonio, Texas; eleven grandchildren and their spouses Scott Vela(Jullian), Ryan Vela, Cory Vela, Mark Lauve(Amber), Aliece (Adrian Grammer) Joshua Vela(Clarissa), Daisy Vela, Lauren Vela, Reese Vela, Tatum Vela, and Wyatt Vela; six great-grand children; a sister, Viola Valdez (Sam R Graves) of Christiansburg, Virginia, a niece, two nephews, grand nieces, grand nephews, and several cousins. Memorial may be made to the Texas Artist Museum, Port Arthur or to any Alzheimer's Unit.