‘Adios, Amigo, vaya con Dios’
by Carlos Raigosa, reporter

    Laughter and music filled the NE Business Services office as Mario Hernandez showed off the picture of his daughter taken some time ago. He stopped to turn the tape of his Latin-influenced Christmas music as he continued to describe other paraphernalia he had collected over the years.

    That day, almost two weeks before Christmas, the business services director was preparing to go home and spend time with his family—one of his greatest joys, he said.

    Little did he know that in two days he would be involved in an accident that would take his life and leave Maria, his wife of 38 years, with severe burns at Parkland Memorial Hospital.

    While resting at his North Richland Hills home Wednesday, Dec. 13, his house suddenly exploded from a natural gas leak around 7:30 p.m.

    After running out to the backyard, the couple was said to have run across the street for help from their neighbors. They were taken to the hospital via CareFlight, where Mario died Thursday morning.

    “For us at NW Campus, it came as a shock because he was on our campus to pick up tamales earlier that evening,” Dr. Michael Saenz, NW Campus president, said. “He came around and greeted everyone with the biggest smile on his face.”

    One thing stood out to Saenz, who recalled one of the infamous ways he could tell if Hernandez was around.

    “His whistling. He was a very happy individual, and we always knew he was near us when we could hear him whistle,” he said.

    “He loved helping out students, both while he worked in the financial aid department and at NE Campus as a bursar,” Saenz said.

    Mario had a habit of stopping by the offices in the Administration Building and loved to joke with people, Dr. Van Parker, NE Campus dean of student development, said.

    “It was mutual. The other people loved joking with him, too,” he said.

    A long-time friend recalled one of the last outings he had with Hernandez, who had worked on NW Campus for 20 years prior to his five years of service on NE Campus.

    “Just a week before [the explosion], we had gone out and had lunch,” Dave Gardner, former NE Campus financial aid director and friend for more than 30 years, said. “When we were leaving, we hugged goodbye.”

    Mario thanked Gardner when they met at a Department of Education meeting in Irving for using the phrase, “Vaya con Dios y buena suerte (Go with God and good luck),” Gardner revealed.

    Gardner said he didn’t have the radio or television on at the time, but the family summoned him to the hospital at the request of Hernandez.

    Mario Hernandez touched many lives and left his impact on friends, family, colleagues and students as was evidenced by the reactions following the accident.

    “There was a rosary that Friday night, quite small, and everyone spoke like they were close to one another, very much aware of what had happened,” Saenz said.

    At that moment, the only thing evident was his joy and caring attitude that was clearly manifested to those who knew him.

    “He was a likeable fellow who was liked by all different elements of people,” Gardner said. “I’ve never met anybody who didn’t like him.”

    Mario’s love for his family was clearly evident to those who knew him. He was known for sending his daughters flowers at school.

    “He openly honored them,” Gardner said. “He sent red roses to his daughters’ classroom for their sixteenth birthday. He also sent them flowers in the second grade for Valentine’s Day.”

    Pat Foley, NW history professor, said Hernandez’s positive attitude was instilled in him through his close-family, Catholic upbringing.

    “Growing up as a Mexican-American in South Texas and being such a hard worker kept his attitude so positive,” Foley said. “He was always for the students, always promoting their well being.”

    Gardner repeated that description and added that Hernandez was proud of his family and humble about his accomplishments.

    “He wasn’t a bragger, and he cared a lot for others,” he said. “Mario’s belief in God and his ability to lean on God made him the person that he was.”

    Mid-day trips to Arizola’s in Lake Worth, a Mexican food restaurant, stands out as a lasting memory of Hernandez to Foley.

    “We would have lunch together at the restaurant. He would just pat me on the back and say ‘Puro español,’” he said. “Always in Spanish, we would have long talks; he inspired me to work on my Spanish.”

    After the accident, friends and co-workers of Mario and Martha Hernandez gave an “outpouring of support for my family,” Martha Her-nandez, one of Mario’s three daughters, said.

    “Despite the trauma and my father’s passing, we are trying to keep a positive attitude and trust that God hasn’t given us more than we can handle,” she said. “He needed my father, but we are very blessed to still have one parent with us and many, many fond memories of the house we called home.”

    Family members and friends have swept through the remains of the house for family belongings. A second search is scheduled for this weekend.

    Although the family lost most of the household items, clothing, personal momentos and house, they still find reasons to be thankful.

    “You, our friends, have been wonderful with your prayers, phone calls, cards, flowers, clothes donations and cash donations to the Mario and Maria Hernandez Memorial Fund,” Martha said. “You, our genuine friends, are perhaps the best example of how my family is very blessed.”

    Gardner, who gave the eulogy at the service, said that Mario “was not passive, but enthusiastic about everything and had more fun in a minute than most people have in a lifetime.”

    “You knew when he was around, not only because of his strong voice, but because of the way he greeted you, his teasing and hugs,” he said.

    Mario will forever be remembered for his high spirits and his aim at helping students.

    Proverbs 17:22 says, “A joyful heart is good medicine, but a broken spirit dries up the bones.”

    Gardner added, “If a joyful heart is good medicine, we may have had an overdose with Mario, if that is possible.”