Willie Chavez grew up in the Paisano Projects, a Mexican-American barrio in the south side of El Paso, Texas. He was a member of the El Paso Boys' Club between 1959 and 1965 and pa...view moreWillie Chavez grew up in the Paisano Projects, a Mexican-American barrio in the south side of El Paso, Texas. He was a member of the El Paso Boys' Club between 1959 and 1965 and participated heavily in just about every activity offered by the Club. After graduating from Jefferson High School, he spent a year at Texas A&M University before receiving an appointment to the United States Military Academy at West Point. After graduating with the class of 1970, he served in the Air Defense Artillery branch of the US Army for 5 years. In 1978, he received a Juris Doctor degree from Columbia University and pursued a career in corporate law with the IBM Corporation, Compaq Computers and Hewlett-Packard. He retired in 2005 and lives with his wife, Licia, in Houston, Texas and Tucson, Arizona.view less