Esteban Daniel Angulo II, fondly called “Cowboy” by his friends in Copperas Cove, walked into the light to join God’s holy forces on March 21, 2014. As he had wished for, he passed quickly, at home, and there will not be a funeral or memorial following cremation.
Esteban was preceded in death by his loving parents, Esteban G. and Virginia Angulo of Nogales and Tucson, AZ who adopted him shortly after his birth September 2, 1948. He is survived by his wife, Sandra Angulo, daughter Audra Yvette Angulo in Sacramento CA; stepson LCDR Jay Adcock, USN ret. and wife Daphne of Meridian, MS, and Jay’s three children: Valentina, Charleston, SC; Justin and Amber of Kingsland, GA, and several family members in Nogales AZ and Los Angeles CA. He would be angry if his other “children,” his “babies” as he called them, were not included, as he loved and cared for them well: Jerusalem donkeys Jenna and Teeny and eight dogs, ages 1-8: Lucky Licorice Boots, Precious Bit-O-Honey, Happy Happy, William Drake “Willie,” Caramelita, Lil Lolly, George and Angel.
While attending Nogales High School, Esteban played football and ran track. He ran 10 miles each morning with weights to prepare himself and held several records for many years, competing with (and beating) others who would later run in the Olympics. His greatest thrills were going on test flights while he worked for Gates Learjet in Tucson and sometimes being allowed at the controls. He remembers flying over this area back then. He often entertained dignitaries from around the world when their plane was brought to Lear for servicing and counted several of our astronauts as friends.
Esteban always had entertaining stories about his working with various actors at Old Tucson and near Nogales (a major filming area) when he was a child/teenager. If you have ever watched the movie McClintock with John Wayne, you have seen Esteban at work in the first race to the hat…the one in the light brown serape. He still had his Indian nose back then. In various westerns filmed in the area, he played Mexican boys, young Indians, and even a Korean child (with his eyes taped to a slant) in a movie with Rock Hudson. He worked for Stewart Granger on his ranch north of Nogales; Granger was married to Jean Simmons at the time. While Linda Evans was filming Big Valley at Old Tucson, he had lunch with her and was smitten, later naming his daughter after the character that Linda played in the series. He, Don Collier, and others from High Chaparral remained friends for years.
Esteban and Sandra were married in Tucson AZ on July 6, 1983. They moved to Las Vegas Nevada in 1995 to be near Sandra’s brother, Col. Robert Saffel USAF ret., but Texas is home for Sandra so upon Bob’s passing, they moved to Copperas Cove in 2005 and made their home on 16 acres in Coryell County just outside the Cove city limits, Esteban retired and Sandra working for the Leader-Press. She was concerned because Esteban had grown up in the deserts of Arizona, and she hoped he would like central Texas. He loved central Texas "...the stars really are big and bright..." and wished they had come years earlier. As Sandra says, “He went totally Texas on me…boots, jeans, buckle, and hat always. He tried to get a laugh out of everyone he met and he will be missed by many.”
Esteban Daniel Angulo, II
Born: Thu., Sep. 2, 1948
Died: Fri., Mar. 21, 2014
Scott's Funeral Home of Copperas Cove, Texas