
A Community Leader
Rosendo "Cheno" Benavides was a well-respected community leader in the Sullivan City, Los Ebanos, and the Rio Grande Valley area for many years. He was born in Los Ebanos and later moved to Sullivan City where he established a grocery store business in 1952. He served as a sergeant during World War II was stationed in Germany in 1942, and throughout Europe until he was honorably discharged in 1945.
Mr. Benavides served on the La Joya ISD School Board of Trustees from 1967 through 1969. He was also an active member of both St. Michael the Archangel and St. Williams Catholic churches in Los Ebanos and Sullivan City, and one of the founders of the La Joya Water Supply Corporation. He was married to Maria Longoria Benavides in 1947 and they had four children. Benavides entered eternal peace on August 19, 1974.