Eddie Arguelles Memorial Service Video

Creator

Files

Creation Date

4-28-2014

Description

Written by The Pan American Eddie Arguelles was not only a cyclist, but a family man. He is survived by his wife, 4-year-old son and 11-year-old daughter. Those who worked closely with Arguelles in the UTPA Information and Technology Division said his family was a large part of his life. "Eddie would go pick up...his daughter during work hours and he'd have her in (his office) with him, and he loved having her there," said Melissa Robles, an IT administrative assistant and co-worker of Arguelles. "He was very proud of her and protective of her." Aside from family, Arguelles shared a passion for cycling. He was a part of a group called the 5AM Wake-Up Ride, which was created in 2009 for people that wanted to exercise before work. Irma Hermida, an IT communications coordinator, said Arguelles was an avid biker who indulged in all sorts of cycling. "He liked to barbecue, he was a writer, he was a Pan Am student, he was a father, he was a husband, he was a friend, he was a cyclist. (He liked)all types of cycling," Hermida said. "There was a mountain bike side of him, he was a racer, he was a road cyclist and he also did cycling with his family, like leisure rides." Arguelles was six classes away from graduating with a general studies degree. While he told co-workers it would take him more than two years to complete his degree because he took only one class per semester, his family will be presented with his posthumous degree by UTPA President Robert Nelsen at the graduation ceremony May 10. Arguelles' supervisor and Technical Assessment Officer Anne Toal said he was a dream to work with and an asset to the UTPA IT department. "Eddie had an enormous appreciation of life and I feel like he made me a better supervisor by having had the privilege of working with him," Toal said. "I feel like everyone I saw him come in contact with here, in some way, they improved. He shed some of his grace on them and he brought them something that they didn't have." Linda Mares, a co-worker and fellow cyclist of Arguelles, said he was a positive and helpful person in the workplace. "He was able to bring the best out of people," said Mares, a business analyst in the IT division. "He was able to recognize what your strengths were, and he would let you know that you were really good at it and that you were awesome." The man responsible for Arguelles' death was driving an F-150 truck and had been drinking, according to The Edinburg Police Department. After striking Arguelles, 23-year-old Emilio Gomez was caught trying to dispose of the body on Iowa Road by Edinburg police. The next day, Gomez was charged with intoxicated manslaughter, tampering with physical evidence and accident involving death, according to The Monitor. Accompanying Arguelles on his early morning ride was friend Eddie Palacios. Palacios took to the 5AM Wake-Up Ride Facebook page shortly after the accident and asked for help in the search for Arguelles. Hermida said one positive thing that came from this tragedy was the awareness about drunk driving. She said his legacy will help the community come together to help end driving under the influence. "We are tired of these drunk drivers," Hermida said. "It doesn't matter if they hit a cyclist or if they hit a pedestrian. It doesn't matter who it was, it needs to stop. I've lost family members to (drunk driving) and now a friend." In memory of Arguelles, Hermida said plans are being considered to have a "ghost bike" placed at the intersection where the accident happened as a reminder to those who pass by. Ghost bikes are white bicycles at the scenes of biking accidents, usually ones involving motor vehicles. "You place a ghost bike where they passed just as a reminder to people that they need to be careful," Hermida said. "That there are people out there who cycle, that their life is just as important (as someone) on four wheels and just to respect cyclists." Memorial services were held April 19 at Memorial Funeral Home in Edinburg and cremation service was scheduled for Tuesday at Val Verde Memorial Garden in Donna. UTPA and the IT department will also hold a memorial service in Arguelles' honor April 25 at 3 p.m. in the Engineering Building Room 1.300. "While he was alive, he lived. And he did, very, very much so," Toal said of Arguelles. "He was very much alive. He was very much in the present. He was enjoying doing all the things that he could do." Written by The Pan American

Physical Description

.MP4, 00:11:07, youtube.com/watch?v=LlBcca-95Xk

Recommended Citation

UTPA Archives - Media, UTRGV Digital Library, The University of Texas – Rio Grande Valley. Accessed via https://scholarworks.utrgv.edu/utpamedia/