Val Verde County unveils Judge Enrique Fernandez portrait in courthouse ceremony

A portrait of Judge Enrique Henry Fernandez now hangs in the second-floor courtroom at the Val Verde County Judicial Center in Del Rio, a permanent tribute to a jurist many in the local justice system described as still shaping how the courthouse works today.

Family members, friends and colleagues gathered Friday at 100 E. Broadway St. to remember Fernandez, whose official likeness was unveiled among the portraits of his predecessors. The ceremony placed him firmly into the courthouse’s visual history, but speakers kept returning to a more practical legacy: the tone he set in the courtroom and the example he left for those who work there now.

Robert E. Cadena, the 83rd Judicial District Judge, welcomed attendees and said Fernandez was his friend, colleague and mentor. Cadena described him as a servant leader who never lost his humility, framing the portrait as a sign of continuity in a court system that serves Val Verde, Terrell, Edwards and Kinney counties through the 63rd Judicial District Court.

The tribute was personal as well as institutional. Fernandez’s widow, Dr. Mayra Latoni-Fernandez, attended with their only child, Joey Fernandez. County Court-at-Law Judge Sergio Gonzalez also marked the occasion by donating a metal bench placed on the sidewalk outside the judicial center in Fernandez’s memory, extending the tribute beyond the courtroom and into a spot that courthouse visitors pass every day.

For many in Val Verde County’s legal community, Fernandez’s public legacy has a clear landmark: he was the first Hispanic elected to the state district court bench in the county. Roy Barrera, a retired Val Verde County Sheriff’s Office deputy and longtime bailiff, said that milestone carried pride for people who worked alongside him and for those who saw the bench open to more of the community it served.

District Attorney Suzanne West added a more personal view, recalling that Fernandez helped her feel at home after she moved to Del Rio with her family. That kind of welcome, along with his years on the 63rd District Court, helped define the courthouse culture in a county where the district clerk supports both the 63rd and 83rd District Courts and where the Board of Judges includes Fernandez, Cadena and Gonzalez.

Fernandez died on August 28, 2025, at age 66. Born on August 30, 1958, in Del Rio to B.L. Fernandez and Lydia Quintanilla Fernandez, he served on the bench in cases seen in court records from at least 2013 through 2020, and Friday’s ceremony made that record visible in the courthouse where his work continues to be remembered.