(La Porte, IN) - He went from earning money by singing as a child to help his mother support the family and quit school to serve his country in World War II before later becoming mayor of LaPorte. Elmo Gonzalez didn’t retire from the workforce until the age of 85, when he was Director of Customer Service for the Indiana Department of Transportation.

 

Gonzalez passed away on Friday at 98.

 

The former two-term mayor from 1988 through 1995 is being remembered as a springboard for projects still paying off for the city today, and for his warm, colorful personality.

 

Former mayor Kathy Chroback described him as “very kind, very jolly, very happy. A happy guy.”

 

Chroback served the first four of her eight years on the city council during Gonzalez’s second term as mayor.

 

She said Gonzalez, with open arms, helped her learn the ropes of city government and the knowledge he passed down was a factor in her becoming mayor for two separate terms and LaPorte County Clerk for one.

 

“He always gave me the time I needed to ask questions,” she said.

 

Chroback also recalled him singing the popular Latin song, “La Bamba,” at the end of city council meetings sometimes, and at other places like Democratic Party functions.

 

“He sang it a lot and he was good at it. He enjoyed singing,” she said.

 

Gonzalez was also a businessman, having previously been the manager and owner of Alan Furniture Mart in Michigan City when Susan Bortell first encountered him in the 1970s as a regular customer.

 

She later became credit manager at the store for nearly four years. Bortell, a lifelong Michigan City resident, described him as bright, warm, articulate and funny.

 

Bortell went to high school with his surviving wife, Paula, and kept in touch with her after the Gonzalezes moved to the Indianapolis area shortly after his tenure was over as mayor.   

 

She said Gonzalez treated everyone no matter what their status “with a smile, handshake or a hug. He was just a super guy.”  Bortell said she also saw him give a “stellar” performance of La Bamba during a campaign fundraiser when he was running for reelection as mayor.

 

"He did part of it in English and part of it in Spanish. He was quite the entertainer,” she said.

 

Gonzalez also owned the former ES Kessler Furniture store in downtown LaPorte, which was operated mostly by his son, Steve, while he was mayor.

 

He ran for state auditor as his time as mayor was winding down.

 

His accomplishments as mayor included the development of the Thomas Rose Industrial Park and securing a state grant that made it possible to renovate the old six-story Rumely Hotel building into senior citizen housing.

 

“He was engaged in the community in so many ways. He was enthusiastic and it was infectious with other people I think,” said Leigh Morris, mayor from 2004 to 2007.

 

Occasionally, Morris, while he was president and chief executive officer of the former LaPorte Hospital, worked with Gonzalez on matters involving the medical facility and city. Morris further described him as tireless in his pursuit of things he felt would benefit the city.

 

Gonzalez was employed by the Indiana Department of Transportation when Morris, after serving as mayor, became a deputy commissioner with the Indiana Department of Transportation.

 

“I’ve known Elmo for a very long time. He was a wonderful family man and he was a very good mayor,” he said.

 

According to his obituary, Gonzalez, born in Ft. Worth, Texas, grew up helping his grandparents with their tailoring business and found odd jobs like singing in nightclubs for money, which he gave to his mother to help support him and his younger brother, Jackie.

 

The bombing of Pearl Harbor inspired him to drop out of high school and serve his country in the Navy as a radioman aboard an aircraft carrier that was struck by two kamikaze pilots in the Pacific.  

 

After returning home, he headed to Indiana to work in the steel mills. That’s where his political aspirations were born, rallying behind local candidates wanting better working conditions.

 

His political career also included a stint as president of the New Buffalo School Board.

 

Bortell said it’s difficult in words to reflect just how she truly felt about Gonzalez, but what she admired most about him was his sense of decency toward mankind. 

 

“He never failed to recognize the basic human kindness in people and he reciprocated with the same kindness,” she said.