“Even though in his condition, it never stopped him,” Minnie Honesto said about her late son Chris Montez. “He was just a happy person, and we will miss him a lot especially me. I’m already lost. I don’t know what I’m going to do without him. “
Christopher Montez from Tahoka, TX was a respected local hero, who passed away peacefully in his sleep Wednesday morning.
“We live today to the fullest, because we’re never guaranteed tomorrow,” Honesto said. “We don’t worry about yesterday because it’s gone. It’s never coming back. So every day is a new day.”
Montez served six years with the United States Marine Corps. He was later promoted to a Sergeant and faced a dangerous battle in 2004.
Montez was injured by a helicopter accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down.
“From the day he got in the Marine Corps, to the day he left, even when he was hurt he always had a smile,” Chris’ Brother Mark Montez said. “The show of strength was really in him and determination, the will to survive. He had all those attributes that would make you a strong person and make everyone around him stronger.”
His family describes him as always smiling, a charming sense of humor, and inspiration to all by his courage to continue through life.
“He was just a very inspiring person,” Chris’ Brother Richard Montez said. “Even though life dealt him a pretty raw deal, he still overcame it just like a Marine, adapt and overcome.”