Raul Portillo Jr.

Raul (Ruly) Portillo was a Navy veteran, devout Catholic, and friend. But most importantly, he was a devoted husband and family man.

Born in El Paso, Texas to Raul and Guadalupe Portillo, he was the eldest of 7 siblings. He attended Catholic schools Guardian Angel elementary and Cathedral High School, then majored in electrical engineering at Texas Western College, now the University of Texas, El Paso. His beloved wife Enriqueta (Keta) Rodarte also attended Texas Western at the time they met.

After graduating from high school, Ruly served our country in the Navy during the Korean conflict. He returned to El Paso and married his true love Keta on December 11, 1954. They grew a devoted family of four children: Charlotte, Raoul, Martin and Gabriel, and the family moved to Albuquerque, NM in 1975. Their children went on to find true loves of their own (Fernando, Christine, Sharon, and Janice), and together they blessed "Grandpa Ruly" with 10 grandchildren (Stephanie, Gilbert, Anna, Katrina, Elyse, Veronica, Kaylee, Alejandro, Amanda, and Ashley) and 18 great-grandchildren.

Throughout his lifetime, Ruly was an exemplar of hard work - and this started early on. He began delivering newspapers at age 12 to help pay for his parochial school education. After college, Ruly worked for Bendix/Control Data Corporation as a computer engineer, sales manager, and national account manager, consistently winning awards for sales achievements. He went on to run a small business franchise with his wife and worked for Vaughan Company Realtors before retiring. To their credit, Ruly and Keta instilled this strong work ethic in their children.

Raul's children loved and appreciated so many things about this beautiful "paterfamilias" (as he proudly referred to himself). He shared with them his passion for history, literature, and the movies. He also introduced them to his love of Big Band music, the opera (La Boheme, in particular), and traditional Mexican music. He phoned his children and grandchildren on their birthdays and played a scratchy recording of the birthday song "Las Mañanitas." And to further celebrate family birthdays, anniversaries, and other milestones, he would create, print, and send loving cards, signed on the back as "The Little Old Card Maker Ruly." His family cherished those cards and the thoughtfulness behind them.

Raul also showed his devotion to his children by attending all of their sporting and cheerleading events. He and Keta were fixtures on the sidelines and in the bleachers, and they were longtime members of the booster clubs. A consummate host, he enjoyed opening his home to is children's friends and partying with them - and other friends and family, too. He had a lasting appreciation of good food and drink: he had a delicious menudo recipe and often made "Chicken a la Mickey," which he'd named after the friend who taught him the recipe. He loved a nice, full glass of red wine, usually chianti in a stemless glass. Most importantly, Ruly demonstrated to his children his enduring faith, the sanctity of marriage, and the unbreakable bond of family.

His grandchildren were also treated to those valuable life lessons. Plus, they got to cuddle on grandpa's lap in his recliner when they were babies. They all loved a good snuggle with grandpa: when they were young, and as they grew. But they probably didn't appreciate his reluctance to share his chocolate-chip cookies with them.

Ruly was a devout Catholic and a longstanding and active parishioner at San Felipe, Queen of Heaven, and Church of the Risen Savior parishes. He served on the Pastoral Council and was a cantor and member of the Spanish Choir at Risen Savior. He and Keta loved their service to the choir and made lasting friendships with fellow choir members.

Ruly was also an enthusiastic traveler and a great storyteller. He had his trove of oft-repeated jokes, as well: his kids still tell those stories and jokes. And he had a fine appreciation of language, dropping phrases like "feminine pulchritude" and "Chancellor of the Exchequer" to humorous effect. And when enjoying a funny story or situation, Ruly had the best belly laugh that could turn to a delightful giggle when he was especially amused. He also shared his affection and humor by nicknaming family members. In turn, they had affectionate nicknames for him: Gramps, Poop, Rude-Mon, to name a few.

Finally, one of his most beautiful acts of family devotion was his love story with Keta. Eternal sweethearts, they could always be found cutting a rug at family celebrations or holding hands. They were forever holding hands - in the early years of their marriage, as a gesture of affection, in the later years, as a gesture of emotional and physical support. Their relationship was as much about mutual respect, admiration, and a shared sense of humor as it was about romance, setting an example for the marriages of their children and grandchildren to emulate.

In addition to immediate family, he is also survived by two brothers (Andres and Juan Portillo) and one sister (Lupe Carcerano), a devoted sister-in-law (Celmira Narvaez), and many loving nephews, nieces, and lifelong friends from New Mexico, Texas, California and beyond who are sorry to bid him adios.

We all will miss hearing your voice and being in your presence, Ruly. But we will never truly miss YOU, as you will live on in our hearts ... forever.

A rosary service will be held at FRENCH-Wyoming on March 24th at 5:00 pm. A funeral mass will be held at Our Lady of the Assumption Catholic Church on March 25th at 1:00 pm.

The family encourages you to wear a mask if you have not been fully vaccinated.  If you are experiencing Covid-like symptoms please do not attend due to the number of elderly and children who could be exposed.