Rene Carlos Gonzalez

Rene Carlos Gonzalez, age 75, of Duluth died September 18. He is survived by his wife of 48 years Leah Gilbreath Gonzalez, daughters Teresa G. Wilkinson of San Jose CA and Rachel S. Gonzalez of Oakland CA, son-in-law Clayton Wilkinson and grandchildren Sean, Margot, and James Wilkinson of San Jose CA; also sister Lillian Werthmann of El Paso TX and brothers Raul E. Gonzalez of Sunnyvale CA and Richard R. Gonzalez of San Lorenzo NM. He was born in El Paso TX December 16, 1936 and was preceded in death by brother Oscar D. Gonzalez and parents Virginia Islas and Ysidro Gonzalez, all of El Paso. Rene was a graduate of Texas Western College, and as a member of the US Army, he did biological research in the Science and Engineering Unit at Dugway Proving Ground in Utah. While at Dugway he was recruited to teach French in the base school and developed a passion for teaching. He did graduate work at San Francisco State College and received a Secondary Teaching Credential. After teaching science and French in secondary schools for several years, he earned a Ph.D. at the University of California, Berkeley, and accepted a position at the National Institute of Education in Washington DC. In 1993 he was appointed acting director of the Office of Bilingual Education and Minority Language Affairs at the US Department of Education. He retired in 1996 as a Senior Research Analyst from the Office of Educational Research and Improvement. After living in Reston VA for 23 years, he moved to Georgia, and was employed part time by Elachee Nature Center, Duluth Montessori School, and Gwinnett County Public Schools. A memorial service will be held at 2 pm on October 20 at the Unitarian Universalist Congregation of Gwinnett, 12 Bethesda Church Road, Lawrenceville GA. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to Amnesty International or the Memorial Garden Fund at UUCG. Wages & Sons Gwinnett Chapel.