Henry B. Gonzalez - Gonzalez Retires from Public Service
In 1998, thirty-seven years after first being elected, Gonzalez retired from congressional service. The Gonzalez political legacy continued as his son, Charles, succeeded him and has been subsequently re-elected.
Henry B. Gonzalez at the 1966 Labor Day rally at the Texas State Capitol. (Henry B.) Papers, CAH; E-HBG-0002.
Gonzalez remained a public figure in San Antonio, receiving various accolades from public service organizations that continued to acknowledge the contribution he made as a crusader against "unprincipled privilege" and "entrenched special interests."
Suffering from ill health and a weak heart, the elder Gonzalez died on November 28, 2000. Tributes came in from across the country, from high-ranking officials like President Bill Clinton, to local constituents expressing respect for a man who never forgot what he fought for— "decency, justice, and abhorrence for what is wrong and intolerance for mediocrity."
Sources:
Hamill, Pete. "Henry B. Gonzalez," in Caroline Kennedy, ed. Profiles in Courage for Our Time. New York: Hyperion Books, 2002.
"Henry B. Gonzalez." Hispanic Americans in Congress. 14 January 2005. Library of Congress. 15 August 2006. <http://www.loc.gov/rr/hispanic/
congress/gonzalez.html>.
Pycior, Julie Leininger. "Henry B. Gonzalez," in Kenneth E. Hendrickson, Michael L. Collins, and Patrick Cox, eds. Profiles in Power: Twentieth-Century Texans in Washington. Austin: University of Texas Press, 1993.
Rodríguez, Eugene. Henry B. Gonzalez: A Political Profile. New York: Arno Press, 1976.