Santos Bernal Sr.

Santos "Papi" Bernal was born December 18, 1943 in Dallas, TX. He was the 3rd of 8 children born to the union of Fred and Dolores Bernal. Santos passed away resting in the arms of our God, surrounded by those who loved him deeply, on Saturday, October 8, 2011. During his life, he touched our lives and soul and became a blessing to us all and his presence in our life is a gift we will always be thankful for.

He received his education from the Dallas Public School System and attended Crozier Technical High School in Dallas, TX. He is preceded in death by both parents, brothers Fred "Kico" Bernal, Sammy Bernal, Johnny Bernal and sister Alice Vargas. He is survived by his 5 children, Christina Adams, Veronica Bernal Sanders, Sandra Bernal, Sarah Bernal-Pierson, Santos Bernal Jr; son-in-law Jimm Pierson; 13 grandchildren, 6 great-grandchildren; sisters Maggie Munoz, Mary Vasquez and Clara Moreno; and numerous loving nieces, nephews, relatives and friends. A life-long resident of Dallas, Santos met and married Adriana Leija with whom he raised their 5 children. Their marriage lasted 23 years. He was employed with the City of University Park, City of Highland Park and lastly as a security guard. Santos enjoyed spending time with his many family members, sitting, talking and joking around. He was an avid reader who taught his children the love of books. His favorites were true crime stories. He enjoyed old classic, western and mobster movies. His love of music extended from Tejano to R&B to classic Rock 'n Roll. Even though Santos always enjoyed home-cooked meals, especially enchiladas, rice, beans and homemade flour tortillas, he always craved a fish sandwich from the old Wimpy's and a hamburger from Whataburger. Santos loved all his family dearly and we are all left with loving memories of his life.

"Our death is not an end if we can live on in our children and the younger generation. For they are us, our bodies are only wilted leaves on the tree of life." ~Albert Einstein "Missing someone gets easier every day because even though its one day further from the last time you saw each other, it's one day closer to the next time you will." ~Unknown