José Meruelo

On March 22nd, 2024, devoted husband, father, and friend, José “Pepe” Meruelo, passed away at the age of 84. He was the only child born to José F. Meruelo and Caridad Beruvides on April 27, 1939 in Cuba. José grew up in Jovellanos near Matanzas, Cuba. He was attending college to study engineering in Santiago de Cuba during the Cuban Revolution. He always believed in and fought for the ideals of liberty and democracy, and he participated in the resistance against the communist regime. He was eventually incarcerated as a political prisoner for several years. He later married his college sweetheart, Elsa Montes de Oca, on Nov. 14, 1965.

Recognizing that he had no future in Cuba, he and Elsa began the process to immigrate to the United States.  José joined Elsa and their two young children in New Orleans in 1972. He began working in the shipyards while attending night school at Tulane University. Two more children were joyfully added to the family. In 1975,­­ the family moved to Channelview, TX and eventually settled in NW Houston in 1983. He finished his mechanical engineering degree at the University of Houston and graduated with Honors. He went on to obtain his Professional Engineering License and worked for various companies in the oil and gas industry, including Houston Oil and Mineral, Tenneco Inc, Royal Dutch Shell, Schlumberger Limited, Pegasus, and EXP Engineering International. He enjoyed his work that took him to projects in Saudi Arabia, Brazil, Ecuador, Chile, Peru, Mexico, Columbia, Venezuela, and all over the United States. He stepped away from regular employment in 2018, but he kept his professional education and certifications current and was ready to re-engage the field for the remainder of his life.  

While proud of his accomplishments of his career, José’s greatest love and devotion was to his family. Over the years, the family has treasured many great evenings extending into the late hours with a glass of good wine, a shot of espresso, and passionate conversations about politics.  

To his family, he was always known as Papi and left to cherish his memories is his wife of 58 years: Elsa Meruelo; his four children: Jose, Arianne (Glenn), Veronica (Steven) and Ernesto (Andrea); and eight grandchildren: Matthew, Zachary, Ian, Kevin, Emily, Alexander, Thomas, and Woodrow.  He was preceded in death by his parents.

José never forgot Cuba, but his true love was the ideals of freedom that he found in the United States. His family and friends are left with many cherished and loving memories and honored to pass on his legacy.

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