In tribute: Jose Olivas brought cheer to friends, family

CLOVIS — Jose Olivas didn’t always make the right choices growing up, but he made sure the people he loved did. And whatever was going on in his day, friends and family said, he’d find a way to bring cheer to yours.

Olivas, who was born in Hereford but spent about the last quarter-century in Clovis, died Oct. 21 at age 36 due to smoke inhalation from a house fire nearly two weeks prior.

A lover of cars and good-natured pranks, Olivas was best known to the customers at the A-Key Car Wash on Prince Street, where Wednesday would have marked six years of employment.

His sister, Maria Olivas, remembered Jose as the prototypical older brother, who would protect her from guys who were no good for her, and sometimes, her own decisions.

“He kicked my butt because he caught me smoking a cigarette,” Maria said. “He wouldn’t let me do dumb stuff.”

Early in his life, Maria said her brother sometimes made bad decisions, and some of those decisions probably should have killed him, like the time he was shot in 2000 while playing “blink,” a type of Russian roulette game.

But she credited him as the reason she’s now two years sober. He’d always be willing to help watch her kids, but he wouldn’t lift a finger for her if he suspected she was going to just fall back into bad habits.

“I spent three years in active addiction,” Maria said. “He showed me a lot of tough love. He was like, “I’m not going to enable you or help you destroy your life.’”

Jose’s mother, Sanjuanita Olivas, said he always liked to stay busy, and he quickly became a car guy as soon as he learned to drive. He was always the child to take her to doctor’s appointments and check in on her, and if somebody was broken down at an intersection Jose would be the person out there helping the hard-luck driver push the car out of harm’s way.

Jose first came to A-Key after serving a sentence for battery, and manager Richard Masterson said the car wash always tries to give people with “baggage” a chance to build good habits and gain the skills for another job as long as they’re willing to put in the effort.

“He lived up to it,” Masterson said. “I didn’t think I would have him that long, but he always did a good job for us.

Masterson said no matter what was happening in his day, Jose would come through the door with a smile on his face, and would make the day enjoyable for himself and coworkers. He had a running prank with Scott Albert, where if one guy left something lying around the other guy was guaranteed to hide it.

“As I got to know who he was,” assistant manager Ray Moncayo said, “it turned form a coworker to a family member. He was always in a good mood.”

Sometimes, his helping nature didn’t end when the working day was over. Masterson remembered having a small car issue, and asking Jose about the issue since he was a car guy and Masterson wasn’t. Later that evening, there was a knock on Masterson’s door. Jose was there to fix the car, and he wouldn’t take no for an answer.

One Saturday, however, Jose didn’t show up for work. Masterson figured out before the phone call came that Jose ended up in jail. Once he got out, the two had a sit-down meeting and Masterson said he didn’t get three strikes at the car wash and that he needed to get his life in order, whether it was finding Jesus or another path. He picked Jesus.

“He became a Christian, got baptized and started going to church,” Sanjuanita said. “He stayed out of trouble. He changed his life for good whenever he found God.”

Maria Olivas said she was thankful to the community for the help it gave for Jose’s sudden funeral expenses, and particularly to the car wash. Moncayo said when customers asked where Jose was and heard about the fire, they were quick to give.

“There are a lot of people here who have a lot of heart,” Moncayo said.

From customers to coworkers to family members, plenty of Clovisites say the day isn’t the same without Jose. But they try to remember the impact he made while he could. Maria said watching him go from a warning story to a role model is something she’s tried to hand down to her children.

“They’ve seen him go from drinking and drugs and living a type of life to transforming it and turning it all around,” Maria said. “He was a big inspiration to our boys.”

In Tribute is a regular feature. To suggest an honoree, contact Kevin Wilson at 575-763-6991 or by e-mail:

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