Legendary Fort Worth community leader who was a longtime barber dies of COVID-19
.jpg "Louis Ayala, a staunch supporter of Fort Worth’s North Side and a Fort Worth political force, died Thursday night from COVID-19")
Louis Ayala, a longtime Main Street barber who was a legendary champion for Fort Worth’s North Side and a civic leader called a political “King Maker,” died Thursday night from COVID-19. He was 90.
Mr. Ayala became ill last week. He tested positive for the coronavirus on Jan. 6 and was admitted to a local hospital that day.
Before becoming ill, Mr. Ayala was a regular in the program Punching Out Parkinson’s, which was created by his great-nephew, two-time world boxing champion Paulie Ayala.
“He had gone to a boxing class for Parkinson’s on Monday (Jan. 4) and he said he felt a little tired, but he just thought it was because they had taken a holiday break,” said his daughter Melissa Ayala-Frazier in a telephone interview with the Fort Worth Star-Telegram on Friday. “It got worse and he went to get tested and it came back positive.”
Funeral services for Mr. Ayala are pending.
Within minutes after his death, friends and fans of Mr. Ayala were paying tribute to a man who was born in Indiana, but moved when he was 2 years old to Fort Worth, where his father worked at the Swift & Co. plant in the Fort Worth Stockyards.
Mr. Ayala grew up in Fort Worth’s North Side, and by the age of 14 he was learning to cut hair.
Years later, Mr. Ayala opened Ayala’s Barber Shop on North Main Street, where he worked for 75 years until he leased the space more than a year ago to other barbers.
“He still cut hair at her place for his loyal followers,” Ayla-Frazier said, referring to Delia Ayala, Louis Ayala’s wife. Delia Ayala operates Delia’s Beauty Salon, 241 NE 23rd St.
But it was at Ayala’s Barber Shop where a barber became a strong political force in Fort Worth despite the fact the 90-year-old advocate never ran for a public office.
Fort Worth attorney Jim Lane called Mr. Ayala the political “King Maker.”
“If you wanted to get elected on the North Side, you went and visited with Louis at the barbershop,” Lane said in a Friday email to the Star-Telegram. “I always told candidates who came asking for advice that if you want to win in this community, you have to get the Ayala endorsement. There is enough of them to win if you don’t get any other votes.”
Ayala-Frazier said her father was not political by any means having never held a public office, but he was very much in the circle with special people who shared his vision for a better North Side and Fort Worth.
Former U.S. Speaker of the House Jim Wright and state lawmaker Doyle Willis were just a few politicians who knew Mr. Ayala through the years.
“He knew his community,” his daughter said.
The tributes for Mr. Ayala continued all day Friday.
State Rep. Ramon Romero Jr., D-Fort Worth, posted this on Facebook Friday: “RIP, Louis Ayala you truly were a legend here in Fort Worth and a friend impossible to replace. May Our Lord bless your journey.”
Former Fort Worth Councilman and Mayor Pro Tem Sal Espino tweeted on Friday that, “Our community & city is in mourning today. Saddened to learn that Louis Ayala, legendary barber, friend, & mentor to many has passed away. Will always cherish our breakfasts, talks, & visits at Rockwood Golf Course. RIP Amigo.”
Mr. Ayala’s daughter said her father loved his barbershop and golf, leading a campaign for the redevelopment of Fort Worth’s Rockwood Golf Course, which reopened in 2017.
“This is really something else, something everyone has been dreaming about,” Mr. Ayala said in a 2017 Fort Worth Star-Telegram story. He had been playing at Rockwood for 50 years and was a member of the city’s golf advisory council. “Where is the best golf course near downtown to play? Only two miles away. It’s very, very handy.”
Ayala-Frazier called her father a “one-of-a-kind person.”
“He worked hard for his family,” she said. “He loved his wife and children.”
Lane called Mr. Ayala a man with character, integrity and loyal to his family.
“He was my friend,” Lane said. “I will cherish his memory.”
The family of Louis Ayala said in lieu of flowers, they’re asking for donations be made to Punching Out Parkinson’s, P.O. Box 123308, Fort Worth, Texas 76121-3308.
For more information on the organization, go to PunchingoutParkinsons.org
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 2:44 PM.
