So long, Joe: Community remembers longtime Cameron County clerk

Joe G. Rivera, who served as Cameron County clerk for 38 years, died Wednesday, April 2, 2025. (Courtesy: Cameron County)

Joe G. Rivera, who served as Cameron County Clerk for 38 years until retiring in 2016, is being remembered as a public servant who always put people first, especially those who needed help.

Rivera died April 2 at the age of 85.

Observing his passing, Cameron County officials expressed deep sadness.

“Mr. Joe Rivera was a fixture in Cameron County serving in various capacities, most notably as county clerk,” according to a statement. “As county clerk, Mr. Rivera and his office were responsible for filling county records such as real estate deeds, business names, vital statistics, military discharge papers and hundreds of other types of documentation. In addition, the county clerk is responsible for serving as clerk for the commissioners’ court.”

County Judge Eddie Treviño Jr. expressed heartfelt condolences to the Rivera family, “especially his wife, Ofie, and his children, all his friends and those impacted by this untimely loss.”

“We will always remember Joe for his passion and commitment to serve his community along with his ability to always make everyone around him smile and laugh, knowing that he was a good man and friend to everyone,” Treviño said. “He proudly served the people of Cameron County for many years. May he rest in peace.”

Rivera served as county clerk from 1974 to 1982 and again from 1986 to 2016.

“He always offered a hand to help,” said Ralph Cowen, a longtime Brownsville Navigation District commissioner who retired last year, and knew Rivera well.

All public servants would do well to emulate Rivera’s example, which was the opposite of self-serving, Cowen said.

The former county clerk was known for spearheading a number of innovations and improvements across departments, and is remembered for a deep commitment to the community and his efforts to “enhance public service and meet the needs of the people,” according to his obituary, which cites his early volunteer work with the Brownsville Jaycees and Esperanza Home for Boys as the spark that fired his passion for public service.

Rivera was active with the United Way of Southern Cameron County, serving on the board of directors and, in 1993, as board president. He won multiple accolades from the United Way and was also honored by the Boy Scouts of America, the Jaycees and Brownsville Rotary.

Rivera was recognized as County Clerk of the Year in 1996 by the Texas County and District Clerks Association. The county commissioners court in 2015 presented a resolution honoring him for his decades of service.

Veteran Brownsville broadcast journalist Ron Whitlock, who interviewed Rivera a number of times, said Rivera never hesitated to interrupt an interview to take a call from a constituent who needed help navigating county bureaucracy. Whitlock added that the county clerk department was a model of efficiency during that time.

Antonio Garza, former Cameron County judge, secretary of state and U.S. ambassador to Mexico, and now senior advisor with White & Case in Mexico, described Rivera as “an extraordinary public servant, involved in everything from United Way to Charro Days to working with at-risk kids in our local schools.”

“I have to say that he had a tremendous, and occasionally wicked, sense of humor,” Garza said. “We spent a morning together a couple of weeks ago and the stories, memories and (memories of politics and worse things) flowed effortlessly and for hours.”

Rivera was a friend and a “constant source of political wisdom” who understood how the county worked, Garza added.

“Joe was among the very best county clerks in the state, recognized by his peers and respected for his leadership across the state,” he said. “During my time as secretary of state, invariably when I was traveling and people realized I was from Cameron County, they’d ask if I knew Joe Rivera.”

Visitation will be held Friday, 3-9 p.m., with a Rosary at 7 p.m., at Darling-Mouser Funeral Home, 945 Palm Blvd., Brownsville. Funeral services will take place Saturday at noon at St. Luke’s, 2800 Rockwell Dr., Brownsville, followed by a procession and burial at Rose Lawn Cemetery.

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