Birth date: Aug 13, 1938 Death date: Feb 16, 2024
Raul Cavazos Jr. passed away on Friday, February 16, 2024, at Mid Valley Nursing and Rehab in Mercedes. Texas.Raul was born and raised in Brownsville, Texas, the son and eldest child of Raul and Elisa Zepeda Cavazos. Raul received Read Obituary
Bruni and family, my deepest condolences on the passing of Raul, or RAC as we referred to him. He was my first supervisor at the McAllen Office. When I was preparing my retirement letter, I looked back at the people who had been instrumental in my career in law enforcement. RAC was one of these. He exhibited qualities that left a lasting impression on me. He had a clear focus as to our mission; that is, to administer due process in each and every case we supervised and/or investigated. He was fair across the board. RAC was not timid in either correcting or praising our work. An officer’s continued improvement was paramount with him.
The probation office has two primary tasks; supervise offenders given suspended sentences and conduct presentence investigations. These are very diverse tasks often requiring specialization. RAC was adept at both. The implementation of the U. S. Sentencing Guidelines in 1987 made the job of presentence investigator much more challenging. RAC became an expert in not only interpreting the novel sentencing guidelines but also in staying abreast of their ever changing and evolving nature. He became the go to person for guideline issues not only at the McAllen office but throughout the district.
Just a brief anecdote. Early on in my career, RAC told me he was impressed by my writing and investigative skills. He indicated that I had the makings of a good presentence investigator and that I should consider applying for any future openings. Truthfully, the job of presentence investigator intimidated me. I replied that I preferred to stay in the supervision role. RAC stated that he respected this. Not long after, he was sending me to a presentence investigation workshop. I got the hint and embraced the challenge. During the latter part of my career, I became the go to person for sentencing guideline issues at the McAllen office. This was due in large part to RAC’s initial mentorship and leadership. He had a way of recognizing a person’s potential even when that person didn’t recognize it. Further he found ways to nudge a person to full fill that potential in a way that benefited both the officer and the department.
Raul you made a positive impact on so many of our careers. Rest in peace my friend.
Domingo Cavazos Jr.
Supervising U. S. Probation Officer
Retired
Bruni and family, my deepest condolences on the passing of Raul, or RAC as we referred to him. He was my first supervisor at the McAllen Office. When I was preparing my retirement letter, I looked back at the people who had been instrumental in my career in law enforcement. RAC was one of these. He exhibited qualities that left a lasting impression on me. He had a clear focus as to our mission; that is, to administer due process in each and every case we supervised and/or investigated. He was fair across the board. RAC was not timid in either correcting or praising our work. An officer’s continued improvement was paramount with him.
The probation office has two primary tasks; supervise offenders given suspended sentences and conduct presentence investigations. These are very diverse tasks often requiring specialization. RAC was adept at both. The implementation of the U. S. Sentencing Guidelines in 1987 made the job of presentence investigator much more challenging. RAC became an expert in not only interpreting the novel sentencing guidelines but also in staying abreast of their ever changing and evolving nature. He became the go to person for guideline issues not only at the McAllen office but throughout the district.
Just a brief anecdote. Early on in my career, RAC told me he was impressed by my writing and investigative skills. He indicated that I had the makings of a good presentence investigator and that I should consider applying for any future openings. Truthfully, the job of presentence investigator intimidated me. I replied that I preferred to stay in the supervision role. RAC stated that he respected this. Not long after, he was sending me to a presentence investigation workshop. I got the hint and embraced the challenge. During the latter part of my career, I became the go to person for sentencing guideline issues at the McAllen office. This was due in large part to RAC’s initial mentorship and leadership. He had a way of recognizing a person’s potential even when that person didn’t recognize it. Further he found ways to nudge a person to full fill that potential in a way that benefited both the officer and the department.
Raul you made a positive impact on so many of our careers. Rest in peace my friend.
Domingo Cavazos Jr.
Supervising U. S. Probation Officer
Retired
