Santa Cruz Sentinel

May 27, 2002

Lionel Cantú Jr., 36, popular UC Santa Cruz sociology professor

By CATHY REDFERN
Sentinel staff writer

Services will be Tuesday for Lionel Cantú Jr., a popular UC Santa Cruz sociology professor who died unexpectedly Sunday. He was 36.

Mr. Cantú was healthy and vibrant, and taught a graduate class last Monday before being hospitalized with intestinal pain Tuesday, friends say.

He was born in San Antonio, Texas, and lived in Santa Cruz for about three years.

Mr. Cantú attended Mount Scared Heart School and Central Catholic High School. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas and master’s and doctorate degrees from the University of California at Irvine.

Mr. Cantú was an associate professor in the sociology department who was affiliated with the Latino, women’s and community studies departments, said Patricia Zavella, a friend and fellow UC Santa Cruz professor.

He wrote his dissertation on gay Mexican immigrants and their networks of support in Mexico and Southern California, Zavella said.

"He did path-breaking research and was going to make an important contribution to the study of immigration, queer and Latino studies," she said. "He was an incredible person with a great sense of humor and was known as an accessible faculty member, so grad students flocked to him."

Isabel Velez, a graduate student, wrote in an e-mail Sunday that she cannot envision UC Santa Cruz without Cantú, who had a strong presence there as a scholar, mentor, teacher and friend.

"If I, or anyone I knew, was going to present work in Latino or queer studies, we knew to call him," Velez stated. " ... If I needed to refer a student to a faculty person who would be able to mentor them with both rigor and compassion, he was my first choice."

Cantú last year completed a needs assessment of Latino youth in south Santa Cruz County and recently started a campus club for Latino sociology undergraduates, Zavella said.

He also was very active in the university’s Chicano Latino Research Center, she said, and was an excellent cook.

He is survived by his life partner, Hernando Molinares of Santa Cruz; parents Rosario and Lionel Cantú of San Antonio; sisters Rose Louise and Rachel Diane Cantú, both of San Antonio; a brother, Charles Cantú of San Antonio; and a grandmother, Herlinda Reyes.

A Mass of Christian burial will be noon Tuesday at Holy Cross Church. The Rev. will Mark Stetz officiate.

Mr. Cantú’s body will be taken to San Antonio.

Contact Cathy Redfern at credfern@santa-cruz.com.

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