Editor’s note: This feature is dedicated to profiling Van Horn High School Alumni and updating locals on what became of them after graduation. The Advocate welcomes information for publication on VHHS Alumni and will try to highlight two Van Horn Eagles every week.
Eileen Rouke
I left Van Horn in the early months of 2007 to take the management position at the Edelweiss Brewery at the Holland Hotel in Alpine. I then went on to manage the Hotel Limpia Restaurant for almost two years before moving to the Ft. Worth area in late 2010 to help babysit my granddaughter, Hannah while my daughter, Amy pursued her nursing degree.
As soon as I arrived in Ft. worth, I knew I would have to do something career wise to keep me busy, so I looked into real estate. I immediately signed up for classes and finished by the end of the year to receive my license in February of 2011. While in Ft. Worth, I was with Coldwell Banker and Keller Williams, both of which had the best training programs available. I finished up with the broker I have now, Tom Whitmore, Veteran Realty Group out of Ft. Worth.
Missing the far west Texas air, weather and mountains, and especially the nights, I was prepared to move back at anytime, but my daughter beat me to it and took a job with Agave Home Health in Alpine in January of 2014, I followed within a month and here we are.
Amy has since married a wonderful guy who works with UPS, and she is still with Agave. My granddaughter is thriving in school, and is active in band, cheerleading and softball. I am doing the real estate thing, have a few listings in Van Horn now, and things are picking up.
After I graduated from Van Horn High School in 1984, I attended Angelo State University for two years. I then decided to go to a technical school in 1986 and received my Associates Degree in HVAC in 1987. I have been married for 27 years to Rebecca Gomez from Canutillo and have three children. I also have two grandchildren a 4-year-old granddaughter and a one-year-old grandson. I reside in El Paso, Texas, where I’ve lived since 1986. I work for American Refrigerating Supplies, where I am the territory manager for American Standard Air Conditioning, a position I have had for the last five years.