Roll Call Tribute

The following information, the attached articles, and the letter to General Rudder were provided by Justino’s brother David Reza ’77.

David wrote of the tragic accident that claimed his brother’s life our junior year. He attached a copy of the newspaper article about the accident from the local San Benito paper. The article is entitled, “Two Honor Grads Killed in Crash.” Also included is the Silver Taps announcement following the accident, and a letter of appreciation that Justino’s father sent to General Rudder for support to the family after the accident. The youngest son in the letter is David, who graduated in Biochemistry from A&M, Class of ’77.

The Reza family established an endowed memorial scholarship in the early 1990s in the name of our classmate. After his father’s death in 1998, David included his name and it became the Justino D. Reza and Justino D. Reza, Jr. ’71 Endowed Memorial Scholarship. After his mother’s death in 2008, David once again changed the name to include hers as well.

In 1992, David established a bench memorial for his brother on behalf of their parents. The bench sits in front of Milner Hall, Justino’s dorm while at A&M. Recently, David established a second bench memorial in his parents’ names directly across from the one for his brother, on the other side of the steps to the front entrance of Milner Hall. The Civil Engineering Department has established a Silver Taps Memorial honoring students and former students that majored in civil engineering. The name of Justino D. Reza, Jr. ’71 appears prominently.

Our classmate left a great living legacy at Aggieland. In addition to his brother David, eight of Justino’s nieces and nephews have gone on to graduate from Texas A&M, including each of David’s three children. All his nieces and nephews were engineering majors, including one in Civil Engineering.