Jose Fret

March 19, 1936 ~ August 7, 2026

Born in: San Juan, Puerto Rico
Resided in: Cibolo, Texas

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José Fret

A Life of Strength, Loyalty, and Nine Lives

Some men are remembered by the positions they held or the things they accomplished. José Fret will be remembered by something greater: the strength he left in the people who knew him.

Born in San Juan, Puerto Rico, José came from a large family but always possessed an unmistakable presence of his own. He was the only one in his family to carry his mother’s maiden name, Fret, and was held in such high regard that relatives would later name their own children after him.

José stood only 5 feet 7 inches tall, but no one who knew him considered him a small man. His presence made him seem like a giant. A look could command respect before he ever spoke. Serious, observant, and calculated, he also possessed a quiet charm and subtle sense of humor that made people naturally drawn to him.

Long before most men are truly tested, José learned exactly what he was made of.

He served his country in Vietnam as an infantryman and marksman, surviving circumstances that became family legend. He was shot multiple times and, during one extraction, survived while hanging from an aircraft under conditions others believed should have been impossible to survive.

It helped earn him the fitting nickname, “Nine Lives.”

But surviving war was only one chapter in a life defined by strength and endurance.

As a young man, José was confident, determined, and known to have a wild side. When he laid eyes on Graciela, he decided she would become his wife. Somehow, the wild young man won her heart, beginning the relationship that would define much of the rest of his life.

José and Graciela worked in the restaurant industry before building a highly regarded restaurant together in Connecticut. They had two daughters, Nancy and Sonia, and raised their family around relatives, food, gatherings, laughter, and music.

José also loved to dance.

Later, José and Graciela began a new chapter in Florida. José worked for the state and, as happened nearly everywhere he went, became a respected leader. Leadership was not simply a position José held; it seemed to follow him. People naturally respected him and looked toward him.

Outside of work, he loved the water. He enjoyed fishing from the piers, taking his boat out, and spending time with friends.

José was a fisherman, craftsman, chef, marksman, and builder. He was the kind of man who believed that if something needed to be done, you learned how to do it and did it well. He even built an addition onto his home for Graciela, using his own hands to make their home larger for the woman with whom he had built his life.

That was José.

He was not a man who constantly spoke words of sentiment.

He built it. He fixed it. He provided it. He protected it.

If José loved you, he did not always need to say it.

You knew.

Once you became part of his family, you became part of his pack. Beneath the toughness, seriousness, and extraordinary strength, his greatest vulnerability was always the people he loved.

As José became a grandfather and then a great-grandfather, new generations came to know the man his family had respected for decades.

One lesson remained with his grandson Joseph from childhood, when José was teaching him baseball:

“If you’re going to do something, you might as well be the best at it.”

It was more than advice. It was José’s philosophy.

He carried it into his work, cooking, craftsmanship, fishing, military service, leadership, and family life.

José also loved sports, following the Boston Red Sox and New England Patriots and, in later years, the San Antonio Spurs.

José was not a perfect man, nor would those who truly knew him want him remembered through an artificially perfect portrait.

What made him remarkable was more genuine.

He was formidable.

He survived things that should have broken him. He built with his own hands. He created a life with the woman he chose. He raised a family, led others, taught those who came after him, worked, cooked, fished, danced, protected, and endured.

The young man from San Juan who carried his mother’s name became the patriarch of generations.

The soldier called “Nine Lives” survived war and came home to build a life.

And the 5-foot-7 man remained a giant in the eyes of those who knew him.

José is survived by his wife, Graciela Fret; his daughters, Nancy Miller and Sonia Wylie; his sisters, Olga and Rosaura; his sons-in-law, John Wylie, Bobby Miller, and Randy Fugate; his grandchildren, Jessica Williams, Joseph Fugate, Olivia Wylie, and Gabriela Wylie; and his great-grandchildren, AnaBella Fugate, Nathaniel Fugate, Arianna Garcia, Landon Fugate, Caleb Garcia, and Jensen.

José leaves behind more than names and memories. He leaves behind people who are stronger because they knew him, lessons that will continue through generations, stories that have already become family legend, and a standard his family will carry forward:

“If you’re going to do something, you might as well be the best at it.”

José spent a lifetime living by those words.

As a soldier. A craftsman. A fisherman. A chef. A leader. A brother. A husband. A father. A grandfather. A great-grandfather.

And to the family who knew the strength behind the serious expression, perhaps the thing José Fret was best at was being theirs.