Eloy Sepulveda told his grandchildren that in his youth, he was kicked out of J. P. Elder Junior High on Fort Worth’s Northside.
Sepulveda, who went on to become an attorney, said his mother Adela Sepulveda took him back to school and assured the principal her son would behave. She sat in the back of his classroom to show she meant business. Mrs. Sepulveda also pulled young Eloy out of alley fistfights behind Main Street.
Now, after 56 years as a licensed attorney, he is thankful for a supportive mother, teachers, and pastor for not giving up on him.
Sepulveda channeled his unruly nature into Golden Glove boxing, football and track. He said sports gave him the motivation to attend school. His pastor Oscar Romo told his mother that her son, in whom he detected an innate intelligence despite poor grades, should go to college.
With the aid of a scholarship and National Defense Funds, he attended Hardin-Simmons University on probationary status, majoring in political science. He focused on his studies and joined the Reserve Officers’ Training Corps, earning an officer’s commission. The Army agreed to defer his active duty status until he completed law school.