Fans Pay Their Respects to ‘King of the Hill’s Jonathan Joss at San Antonio Vigil

A week after King of the Hill star Jonathan Joss was shot and killed in what his husband Tristan Kern de Gonzales says was a homophobic attack, fans paid their respects to the late John Redcorn actor. 

Roughly 100 mourners gathered at Crockett Park in Joss’ hometown of San Antonio on Sunday, leaving flowers, lighting candles and sharing their memories of the actor at a vigil hosted by Pride Center San Antonio.

“He was just a long-time friend of ours, and we’ve always been fans of King of the Hill,” Brittany Melgar, who attended the vigil with her boyfriend, told local news outlet KSAT, noting that Joss had agreed to officiate their wedding shortly before his death. 

For others, including Jennifer Rios, the memorial was about more than just a remembrance of Joss’ life, but rather an opportunity to show investigate the shooting as a potential hate crime. “I want Tristan, the widower, to know that community is here, and we do care,” they explained, promising to “follow the story.” “We’re gonna make sure that we get justice for Jonathan.”

With the backing of his community, Kern de Gonzales also offered a few words about his late spouse. “I learned a lot from Jonathan, and I’m still learning a lot,” he told the crowd of his husband, who was killed outside of their former home on June 1st. 

In a later social media post, Kern de Gonzales explained that this memorial was just the first of several events aimed at honoring Joss’ legacy. 

“There will not be just one official funeral or celebration of life for my husband, Jonathan Joss,” he wrote in a message shared to his husband’s Facebook page early Wednesday morning. “Jonathan’s life deserves more than silence. It deserves to be sung, shouted and lifted up by every voice that loved him. And I know that’s exactly what he would have wanted.”