John Joseph Escamilla

John Joseph Escamilla of San Antonio passed away Friday, May 29, 2026, at the age of 78.

Born June 16, 1947, in Hondo, Texas, he was the son of Manuel and Augustina (Ureste) Escamilla, who had each come from Mexico and found one another in Hondo, where they built their family and put down roots that would reach across generations and throughout Medina County.

Joe, as he was known to his friends, grew up in the close-knit Hondo community. He first attended the old Catholic school (the one that later burned down) before graduating from Hondo High School with the class of 1966. He went on to study nursing in Galveston before answering a different call to service.

In 1971, Joe enlisted in the United States Air Force and completed basic training at Lackland Air Force Base, beginning a twenty-year career that carried him around the world. His first assignment took him to Clark Air Base in the Philippines, where he served with the 3d Supply Squadron and later supported the Security Police as an administrative assistant. He arrived while Clark stood as a vital supply hub for the Vietnam theater, helping move troops and materiel toward the front, and during Operation Homecoming it became the reception point where American prisoners of war were flown for medical care and processing on their way back home. From 1973 to 1977 he was stationed in South Dakota, handling supply and logistics and coordinating his base’s mail distribution. From 1977 to 1981 he served at Andersen Air Force Base in Guam with the 54th Weather Reconnaissance Squadron, the famed “Typhoon Chasers,” who flew directly into Pacific storms to measure their strength and warn those in their path. He went on to support the Security Police Squadron at Dyess Air Force Base (1981 to 1983), communications operations at RAF Croughton in England (1983 to 1987), and intelligence operations out of Kelly and Brooks Air Force Bases (1987 to 1991). He retired from the Air Force in 1991.

Retirement did not slow him down. That same year he began a second career at Air Force Village II, later known as Blue Skies of Texas, the large veteran retirement community in San Antonio. Over the next 35 years he became a familiar and beloved presence there, serving as security officer, gate guard, courtesy officer, and front desk attendant; whatever the community needed, Joe was there. He was still on the job, still serving the residents and families who had come to count on him, when he passed away.

Those who knew Joe remember his warmth, his generosity, his gift for a good story, and his readiness with a joke — dubious as a few of them may have been. A lifelong lover of thrift finds and tchotchkes (knickknacks), he spent many happy hours hunting for treasures, and for a time ran his own booth at the small flea market near the Lackland Security Service Federal Credit Union. It was, by every account, a true passion. He was kind and giving to everyone he met, beloved across the far west side of San Antonio and throughout Medina County, with friendships reaching back to his Hondo boyhood and forward through every base, every posting, and every decade of work that followed.

He was preceded in death by his parents, Manuel and Augustina Escamilla, and his siblings, James Escamilla, Elvira Palomo, Rosa Sittre, Jacinta Ramirez, and Celia Gonzales.

He is survived by his wife of 50 years, Lilia Pulido Escamilla; his son, Eric Escamilla of San Antonio; his grandson, Caillou K. Escamilla of Seattle, Washington, and granddaughter, Alexa Andrews of San Antonio; two great-grandchildren; and his sisters, Inez “Lupe” Nira, Mary Dominguez, Jane Harms, and Paula Sanchez.

Services are pending.

Guinn-Horger Funeral Home