DESI NAJERA, FABLED 1969 B.H.S. GOLDEN EAGLE QB, DIES

Garza Memorial Funeral Home
1025 E. Jackson

Desiderio Gamboa Najera, 73, of Brownsville, passed away on March 15, 2025, surrounded by the beautiful memory of his beloved wife Carmen, who passed just a year before him. 

He lived a life full of energy, love, and joy, leaving a legacy of God's mercy and grace. Born on November 5, 1951, in 
Brownsville, Desi was the fourth of eight children of Israel and Maria (Gamboa). 

From an early age, he had an explosive personality and many friends. Desi would tell hilarious stories of growing up in the valley in the 1950s and 60s, where he played pick-up baseball games with his brothers and neighborhood friends on Wilson Street.

He and his buddies built make-shift go-karts, fished, and climbed trees. Even as an adult, Desi honored his mother and father, regarding them with deep respect. Desi's father was his ultimate hero. His brothers and sisters were his anchors in his early life. He would often beam with "Najera pride" at their accomplishments, sharing with anyone who listened about his siblings' successes.

During his teen years, Desi made history. Without argument, he is regarded as one of Brownsville's best quarterbacks ever to play high school football. During his 1969 senior season, Desi led Brownsville to the District 26-4A championship and a 10-2 season record. He was a dual-threat quarterback who passed for 1,300 yards with 19 touchdowns and rushed for 1,000 more with 12 TDs in his senior season.

But Desi would have said none of those accolades compared to his true teenage highlight- meeting his future wife, Carmen Guerra. Nothing could keep them apart, not even football. Desi would walk Carmen home from school despite having to be at football practice! He loved visiting her at her home and being a "big brother" to her eight younger siblings, often playing the guitar while his future father-in-law played the accordion.

This love for family surpassed his football dreams. While Desi received 26 college offers, he chose Texas A&I University in Kingsville because it was close to his family and beloved Carmen. During his sophomore year of college, Desi married Carmen, and they spent the next 52 years together until her passing.

After playing with the Javelinas for two seasons, he and Carmen moved around, briefly living in Alabama and New Mexico, where they enjoyed the snow and began raising their growing family.
After settling in Brownsville, Desi worked many jobs but ultimately began his 16-year career with the Brownsville Fire Department, where he later served as Lieutenant and Fire Chief. Like his father before him, Desi was a highly regarded department member who made long-lasting friendships and supported his community with tenderness and strength.

His children remember the mornings he would return home from his shift smelling like the smoke from a house fire that happened overnight. They would help him take off his shoes and socks while Carmen made him his favorite flour tortillas, bien tostadas, as a reward for his loving provision for the family. Desi loved sharing about his work with his kids when they were very young, making sure they visited him at the station when he was working to look at the firetrucks, snack in the station kitchen, and simply sit on his lap and cuddle him.

His love for his kids continued as they grew up and began making their own lives. He always made time to teach his children and grandchildren how to enjoy the world around them through fishing, building, playing sports, gardening, whistling, or savoring a good meal.
One of his favorite ways to show love to his family was to organize a cookout as often as possible or make them pancakes. He also loved visiting his daughters, who lived outside the valley, soaking up new sights, and visiting garage sales with his Carmen.

Desi loved his children relentlessly through joy and pain. He attended their countless sporting events, award nights, performances, and graduations with great pride, but he also sat with them through heartbreaking doctor visits and personal sorrows. He showed his kids not to worry but to trust and believe in God's goodness. He babysat grandkids, making sure the cookie jar was always full. Desi always answered his kids' phone calls and was ready to save the day for them, fixing pipes, changing tires, opening his home, and giving rides or advice. Like his father was to him, Desi was his kids' hero.

After his time with the BFD, Desi worked as an emergency management coordinator with Cameron County. He retired before completing his bachelor's in Kinesiology from The University of Texas at Brownsville.
It was around this season of his life that Desi learned about God's love more deeply than ever before. He began praying, attending church, and meeting others who loved and honored God. He studied the Bible, and soon, a deep love for God was ignited in him.

Desi was grateful to spend a few years of his retirement as a coach at a private Christian school, where he taught physical education to hundreds of children. He loved working with kids as a mentor, sharing his faith and athletic expertise.

His love for God never faded, and even in his final days, his kids would often see him worshiping God from his bed, surely thanking God for his great love and abundant blessings.
While some knew him as chief, coach, brother, grandpa, or daddy, Desi will always be remembered as a powerhouse of faith and a prayer warrior. He inspired his children, grandchildren, friends, relatives, and strangers to know God more deeply and live in peace with one another.

Desi is survived by his six children, Desidero Jr. (Yvonne), Andy (Zoraida), Rebecca (Aaron), Ricardo (Liliana), Theresa (Rigoberto), and Monica (Rodrigo). He and Carmen were also abundantly blessed with 16 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren.

Visitation will be Tuesday March 18, 2025 from 12-6 p.m. His life will be celebrated with an evening service at 6:00 p.m. at Garza Funeral Home. Friends and family will gather to honor and remember him as he wanted.