32-year-old leader of ‘the next bilingual generation’ killed in Texas car wreck
ABILENE, TEXAS — J.R. Rubio died wearing a Jóvenes for Christ T-shirt.
The 32-year-old architect served as president of the organization, which sponsors annual summer camps for English-speaking teens from bilingual and predominantly Hispanic Churches of Christ.
Rubio spent this past weekend in West Texas, meeting with the Jóvenes board as it planned for next summer’s camp at Abilene Christian University — and for the future.
But the young leader was killed in a head-on collision Sunday, Dec. 15, while headed home to Austin.
JuanRaymon Rubio, left, at Jóvenes for Christ in Lubbock, Texas, in 2023.
JuanRaymon Rubio’s car was struck when an approaching vehicle crossed the centerline of Texas Highway 71 near Llano County Road 306, about 70 miles northwest of Austin, according to the Texas Department of Public Safety.
Both drivers — Rubio and Ryan Becerra, 27, of Brownsville, Texas — were pronounced dead at the scene. The accident remains under investigation.
Since its inception in 2016, Jóvenes for Christ has met at Lubbock Christian University. Pronounced HO-ven-es, it means “Youths for Christ.”
But Rubio told The Christian Chronicle in 2023 that camp leaders hoped to rotate among other Christian university campuses in the future if costs could be contained and local support was available. Rubio was a volunteer, as is the entire staff.
That’s why they were in Abilene.
“It was all J.R.’s idea to do a visioning retreat,” said Alonzo Rojo, youth minister for the Robinson Church of Christ in Springdale, Ark. “He really wanted the board to start working on the future,” making connections and finding resources not just for the annual camp but also for scholarships.
“It was all J.R.’s idea to do a visioning retreat. He really wanted the board to start working on the future.”
‘Bilingual’ trailblazer
Rojo, a Jóvenes leader with Rubio, called him a trailblazer.
“J.R. always wanted to impact the next generation –– the next bilingual generation,” Rojo said.
“He was setting a path for that generation with new ideas. That was his passion. … I have never met anyone like J.R. He was so full of life. He made you feel welcome.”
“He was setting a path for that generation with new ideas. That was his passion. … I have never met anyone like J.R. He was so full of life. He made you feel welcome.”
Rubio was known for his laugh.
“You knew when he laughed — it was so loud and recognizable and contagious,” his friend said. “He had a gift that he could connect with everyone and had a talent to connect others with others. He will be missed.”
Jóvenes will continue, Rojo said, and keep Rubio’s passion alive.
“We’ll continue to pour into Jóvenes for Christ because that was his legacy within Churches of Christ. … I see God’s hand in all this — we had the retreat and talked about the future, and I think we want to be good stewards of that time and the vision that we have.”
Abel Alvarez, director of Hispanic initiatives at ACU, called the weekend with Rubio and the Jóvenes board inspirational.
Only Rojo and Rubio had been to the campus before. Alvarez, who served many years as minister for the Harvey Drive Church of Christ in McAllen, Texas, arranged to host the group.
Alvarez organized visits with campus leaders and led a campus tour that concluded with a group picture at Jacob’s Dream, a campus and Abilene landmark. The photos likely were the last taken of Rubio.
The setting is poignant, perhaps providential.
JuanRaymon Rubio, fourth from left, poses for a photo at Abilene Christian University this past weekend. Also pictured, from left, are Yazmin Tabares, Kevin Rivera, Alonzo Rojo, Lupe Nacesnceno and Ivan González.
‘We should think big’
The 34-foot, 7,000-pound sculpture depicts four angels ascending and descending a ladder to heaven. Sculptor Jack Maxwell reflected on its creation in a 2007 award-winning film:
“It’s just a reminder that when we do things, we don’t always have to do small things. We should think big, think large. … We don’t think big enough often enough.”
That’s how Rubio thought –– about the future, and the past.
Professionally, Rubio was a preservation architect. After completing bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture at Texas Tech University in Lubbock, he spent seven years as an associate at Architexas. He was vice president of the board of directors for Preservation Austin and active on the City of Austin Historic Landmark Commission.
Rubio was born Nov. 18, 1992, in Chicago Heights, Ill., a far-south suburb of Chicago. His mother, Norma, was a children’s librarian. His father, Raymon, worked in control systems, robotics and machine tools after serving in the U.S. Navy.
Besides his Christian faith, JuanRaymon Rubio’s passions included architecture.
J.R. was the couple’s youngest child and only son.
The elder Rubio described his son’s childhood and family trips into the heart of the city.
“He always loved books, especially architectural books,” the father said. “And as a little boy, he was amazed and awed by skyscrapers and fell in love with architecture.”
“He always loved books, especially architectural books. And as a little boy, he was amazed and awed by skyscrapers and fell in love with architecture.”
Itinerant youth minister
Eventually, he also developed a love of historical preservation, which became his specialty.
The family were longtime members of the Park Forest Church of Christ in nearby Matteson, Ill., a congregation Raymon Rubio described as a very diversified community of Black, White and a few Hispanic members. J.R. was active in the youth group and regularly attended Rockford Christian Camp in Winnebago County, Ill.
Despite growing up in the shadow of one of America’s great architectural cities, J.R. chose to pursue his architecture degree in his father’s hometown, where his grandmother and many other family still lived.
Raymon had grown up attending the Colgate Church of Christ in Lubbock, the bilingual congregation where J.R. worked as a youth minister during his student days in Lubbock. A decade later, Colgate supported Jóvenes with meals and an evening activity.
But J.R. sometimes described himself as an itinerant youth minister who was seldom in the same place two Sundays in a row. His constant companion on those many road trips was a 7-year-old German Shepherd rescue named Paco.
For the past two years, J.R. had been active with the Grove Avenue Iglesia de Cristo in San Antonio, where his grandfather served as minister back in the 1980s.
The small congregation of about 50 no longer has a full-time minister. Roberto Rivas, a retired lab supervisor at a local hospital, said he’s not “the formal minister” but has been there since the 1970s. An ACU graduate himself, Rivas said he was excited about the prospect of Jóvenes for Christ moving to his alma mater for its June 2025 session.
The 8- to 10-member youth group at Grove Avenue has attended Jóvenes ever since Rivas learned about it from J.R., who served as youth leader.
“They really got to know his character, his heart, who he was,” Rivas said. “He had a good rapport with young people. They liked being with him, a fun person — and he really took to our kids.”
The group will still attend Jóvenes this summer, Rivas said, even though “it will be a little different.”
One last ride
J.R. had been living in Kyle, one of many used-to-be-small towns along the 79 miles of Interstate 35 between Austin, where he worked, and San Antonio, where he worshiped.
He had recently helped his parents complete a new home in Kyle and was planning to fly this week to Chicago for a last family Christmas there before driving their U-Haul back to Texas, where he’d share their new home. Paco had been left in Illinois on a previous trip so he could make the drive to Texas with his owner.
“J.R. was going to live in it with us. When we walked in, it was just empty,” Raymon said, his voice breaking. “He helped us design the interior, everything we see. He had a voice and a passion in what we did in the house.”
JuanRaymon Rubio with Paco, his 7-year-old German Shepherd rescue.
So instead of packing up belongings in Illinois, Raymon drove from Chicago and spent the week making arrangements for J.R.’s funeral. A visitation is planned Friday, Dec. 20, from 5 to 8 p.m. The funeral service will be Saturday, Dec. 21, at 11 a.m., both at Harrell Funeral Home in Kyle.
When Raymon told the funeral director how much his son had loved Paco, and how much he loved the Texas Tech red Chevy Silverado that Raymon gave J.R. as a college graduation gift, the gentleman said they had a device that could load J.R.’s casket into the back of his truck.
Meanwhile, friends in Chicago already arranged to bring Paco to Texas so he could be with his owner one last time.
JuanRaymon’s beloved Paco will be able to attend the 32-year-old’s funeral.
“The funeral home has given us permission for Paco to be in the chapel,” Raymon said, “and I’ve confirmed with the director that J.R. will be transported to his final resting place in his own truck with his dog.
“And if that wasn’t a blessing enough for me and my wife and daughters, he called the vault company and asked them to paint the vault Texas Tech red and put the Tech logo on it.”
In addition to hundreds of campers, dozens of extended family, his parents and sisters, J.R. was Tio — or “Uncle” — to his 5-year-old nephew Elias, son of sister Janee, who lives in Austin. Their sister Rosa lives in Oklahoma City.
“J.R. has been a father figure to Elias since he was born,” Raymon said.
Indeed, Elias was the youngest camper at Jóvenes five years ago when he attended in his bassinet. He’s gone every year since.
“I have to fill the big shoes of my son and be there to be sure that Elias knows the importance of keeping God in his life,” Raymon said. “Maybe someday he’ll be a mighty warrior like his uncle, J.R..”
Maybe someday he’ll think big about the future, and the past.
CHERYL MANN BACON is a Christian Chronicle contributing editor who served for 20 years as chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communication at Abilene Christian University. She interviewed JuanRaymon Rubio at Jóvenes for Christ last year. Contact [email protected].
Memorial gifts
In lieu of flowers, the family requests memorial gifts to Jóvenes for Christ.
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