Francis Javier “Harvey” Gomez was a loving husband, father, grandfather, brother, and friend. Harvey entered eternal rest and joy on January 29^th, 2023, at the age of 71.

He was born August 3^rd, 1951, in Fabens Texas. He grew up in Texas in a large loving family with five brothers and three sisters. At age 19, he joined the Air Force and worked as a Combat Controller. After going to the U.S. Army Airborne school, he conducted various joint operations with Army Airborne units as a paratrooper. After being honorably discharged, he completed his bachelor’s and Master’s Degrees in Criminal Justice, which led to a career as a federal officer. He met his wife, Dawna, while working as an officer at the Federal Medical Center where she was a nurse. They married in 1981 and had one child, Jessica. He later retired from his role as a Federal Case Manager in 2001.

Harvey always had a love for music. He played the drums for his church worship band when he attended Jefferson Avenue Baptist Church, played in a local band called “Full Throttle” with work friends from the Federal Medical Center, led worship at Briar Street Baptist Church, and frequently participated in a church music group that called themselves “The Three Amigos” with two of his friends. He hung on to all of his 8 Tracks and vinyl records despite multiple attempts from Jessica to update his music library!

Harvey’s favorite way to spend his time was with his family. Many evenings were spent enjoying dinner and favorite television shows with his wife. He adored his grandchildren, Wesley and Aurora, and spent one of his last evenings before entering the hospital sitting on the floor in Jessica’s home coloring with his granddaughter after their weekly “Taco Tuesday” family dinner. He had many friends whom he loved like family and tried to make everyone feel welcome and get a few laughs wherever he was. His friends often joked that he was the “social director.” Even with the progressive challenges of Parkinson’s Disease, he remained active and involved in many circles, always wanting to encourage others to stay positive and lean upon the Lord during life’s challenges.

He always claimed that his main life goal was for people to see his love for the Lord. He was a dedicated deacon in his church, taking especially great joy coordinating their nursing home ministry and leading Sunday afternoon services at Ravenwood Senior Living. Meeting with local pastors on Tuesday mornings for a prayer breakfast was something that he looked forward to every week. With this in mind, we ask that any memorial donations in Harvey’s name be made to Briar Street Baptist Church—he loved his church and would want his memory to be a blessing to them.

Harvey’s favorite scripture was Romans 8:38 “I am convinced that neither death nor life… neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” As we gather to celebrate his life on Monday, February 6^th at Greenlawn Funeral Home North followed by a burial with Military Honors at The Veteran’s Cemetery, we will remember the words from this scripture with joy, knowing that the closing of his earthly life has brought him into the eternal love of the presence of the Lord.