Barney Cruz, IV, age 27, from Seguin, Texas, who recently enjoyed living in Austin, Texas, passed away on July 28, 2017 in a hiking accident in Colorado. Barney lived life to the fullest.  He lived adventurously and enjoyed traveling, hiking, and camping under the stars. He often found inner peace with the tranquility of a mountain top or the sunrise or sunset of a day after accomplishing the challenge of a hike. He was a competitive tennis player who also enjoyed playing rugby and basketball. Barney greatly enjoyed music of many styles and shared his love for music through playing the piano, guitar, ukulele, and trombone. He loved to explore microbreweries and shared his passion as a connoisseur of beers. He had an intense desire to constantly learn and expand his knowledge. When he traveled, he normally packed as many books as he did clothes. Barney focused on the present needs of life but he always worked to achieve tasks that would help him reach his ultimate dreams. He had tremendous drive and strived for excellence in everything that he pursued. Barney had a unique way of seeing things and often offered his unique perspective.

Barney graduated as Valedictorian from Navarro High School, graduated with a B.S. in Chemical Engineering from Rice University, and attended Stanford University to further his post-graduate education. His biochemistry research at Stanford included the publishing “Tracking of cell cycle phases by live-cell fluorescence microscopy using Fucci4 in human HeLa cells”.

Barney is the son of Lanita and Barney Cruz, III. Barney is predeceased by his grandfathers, Johnnie D. Spruell and Barney Cruz, Jr. He is survived by his parents and his sisters Ann and Katherine Cruz. He is also survived by his grandmothers, May Spruell (Midland, Texas) and Terry Cruz (Santa Fe, New Mexico); Aunts and Uncles Roselyn & Pete Turner, Patricia Cruz, Richard and Beth Cruz, James Spruell, John and Judy Spruell, Diana and Kris Hinckley, and Sharan Spruell; as well as numerous cousins and friends.

Serving as honorary pallbearers are his friends Ben Morey, Jay Patel, Nate Roy, Amram Bengio, Alex Marks, Patrick Gugliuzza, Spencer Reynolds, Tom Campbell, Michael Lester, Sam Shainsky, George Dawson, and Alex Wyatt.

A memorial service to celebrate Barney’s life will be held on Saturday, August 12, 2017 at 11:00 a.m. at St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church, 201 E. Nolte St, Seguin, TX 78155. A reception will follow at McKeogh Hall at the church.

For those who would like to make a memorial contribution, please send it to:
Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue
P.O. Box 1604
Alamosa, CO 81101
Contact: Suzi Hopper, (719) 588-9236

The family would like to extend a special thank you to everyone involved in the recovery of Barney from Mt. Blanca. The family’s deepest gratitude goes to Special Operations Advanced Mountaineering School 10th Special Forces Group lead by Captain John Ferry, Alamosa Volunteer Search and Rescue coordinated by Suzi Hopper, Deputy Chris Lavery & Deputy Rick Martinez from the Alamosa Sheriff’s Department and Search and Rescue, Harry Alejo, Deputy Coroner for Alamosa County, and Kevin Rogers, Alamosa County Coroner.  The family also extends a heartfelt thank you to the fellow hiker who made the call to emergency personnel.

You are invited to sign the guest book at www.treshewell.com. Arrangements are under the direction of Tres Hewell Mortuary, 165 Tor Dr., Seguin, Texas, 78155, 830-549-5912.