San Juan Banda Ramirez

In Loving Memory of San Juan Ramirez

May 23, 1977 – August 14, 2026

San Juan Ramirez, 49, passed away on August 14, 2026, leaving behind a lifetime of stories, laughter, friendships, and more than a few Dallas Cowboys heartbreaks.

He leaves behind his wife of 18 years, Wendy Ramirez, whom he adored deeply and loved with all of his heart. Simply put, she was his partner, best friend and love of his life. San Juan also leaves behind his faithful four-legged companion, Biggs, affectionately known as “Little Fat Dog.”

San Juan was a man who loved his people fiercely and his hobbies enthusiastically. He was a lover of all thing's comics, especially Marvel, and he was an avid player of Magic: The Gathering. If there was a good story, an epic battle, or a collectible card involved, San Juan was most certainly interested.

Then there were his Dallas Cowboys.

San Juan loved the Cowboys with the kind of loyalty that deserves its own award. They broke his heart far more times than they didn’t, but every season he came back believing again, with his trusty bucket of salty tears nearby, just in case. Hope springs eternal; especially for a Cowboys fan.

He was also a proud TCU Horned Frog fanatic by marriage and loved tailgating with his Horned Frog family. Win or lose, San Juan understood something important: the final score didn’t determine whether you had a good time; however, it’s the people around you who did.

Family and friends were at the heart of San Juan’s life. His love of people was evident in how he treated everyone he encountered, which also meant he was adored by everyone he met. He truly never met a stranger. His motto said everything about the way he lived: “There are no strangers, just friends I haven’t met yet.”

And San Juan meant it.

He had a gift for making people feel welcome. He could turn a stranger into a friend, an ordinary gathering into a memory, and a football loss into something worth laughing about later. His world was better because it was filled with people, but quite honestly, the lives of those people were better because they were filled with San Juan.

San Juan was preceded in death by his parents, Petra and Elpidio Ramirez, and his father-in-law, Gene Mayes, as well as his beloved dog, Wylie. Though they are no longer here, the love they gave, the laughter they shared, and the memories they created remain woven into the lives of the family they left behind.

San Juan is survived by many people who loved him: his sweet sister Corina Steele, her husband, Keith Steele, and their children, Jeremy, Lila, and Calvin, of Georgia. His mother-in-law, Linda Mayes of Cleburne; his brother-in-law, Allen Mayes, and his wife, Lorraine, of Van Alstyne, Texas; and their children Alex and Hailey Mayes of Denison; Connor and Kelsey Mayes of Van Alstyne; and Molly and Jake Mohr of Justin. His brother-in-law, Rus Mayes, and his wife, Kristi, of Godley, along with their daughter, Kenzie Mayes, and her cat Goose, of Lubbock; and his stepmother-in-law, Sandra Mayes of Allen. He also held a special place in his heart for his great-nieces, Juniper, Roosevelt, and Ellie Mayes

Unfortunately, as time moves forward, there will be an empty seat at the tailgate, a missing player at the card table, someone absent when the next Marvel movie comes out, and one less Cowboys fan yelling at the television, but there will also be stories. Lots and lots of stories. Stories that will be told with laughter before the tears arrive. Stories about his kindness, his humor, his loyalty, his dogs, his teams, his hobbies, and the way he loved his family and friends.

San Juan’s life reminds us that a life doesn’t have to be perfect to be wonderful. It just needs to be filled with people you love, things that make you happy, a dog or two beside you, and enough hope to believe that maybe, just maybe, this will finally be the Cowboys’ year.

San Juan was deeply loved, and he will be deeply missed. But for a man who believed there were no strangers, only friends he hadn’t met yet, we like to think he’s already busy making new friends on the other side