Lonnie B. Villareal

Lonnie was born in San Antonio on April 7, 1925, one of six surviving children. A member of the "Greatest Generation," he dropped out of Burbank High School at 17 and enlisted in the Army Air Corps to serve during World War II.

Never previously outside Texas, Lonnie served on Army Air Corps bases near Liverpool and London during the War, and in France and Germany after D-Day.

He worked to repair and maintain U.S. fighter planes, including the P-38 Lightning, and was promoted to Staff Sergeant and a squadron leader. He went to France on D-Day Plus Three and remained in Europe following VE Day, serving as a member of the Military Police.

While stationed outside of Liverpool, England, Lonnie met a young redhead named Stella Finnegan. When he returned home to San Antonio, Stella crossed the Atlantic to follow him. Their marriage would last for the next 62 years.

After the war, Lonnie worked at Kelly Air Force Base for almost 35 years. He developed a particular expertise working with the landing gear and hydraulic systems of the B-52 Stratofortress and the C-5A Galaxy.

He was also selected to lead a team to maintain the Atlas missile system silos near Ruidoso, New Mexico, that were at the time part of our national missile defense systems. While at Kelly, Lonnie served as a lead member of the negotiating team that successfully organized maintenance workers as part of AFSCME.

After retiring from Kelly, he worked for several years as a bailiff for Bexar County District Court Judge Rose Spector.

He continued his lifetime of service by working for Texas Land Commissioner Garry Mauro, leading the San Antonio office of the Veterans Land Board and travelling throughout South Texas to assist Texas veterans obtain low-interest loans to buy land or make home improvements.

Lonnie worked throughout his life to support veterans and was an active member and leader of the American Legion and Veterans of Foreign Wars in San Antonio.

Lonnie and Stella were proud Democrats who worked tirelessly over 50 years to elect candidates in city, state and national Democratic politics.

Through his dedicated efforts, he helped give a voice to the under-represented Mexican-American community and was a key part of the generation of Mexican-Americans who fought for justice and representation in the San Antonio area.

Along with Stella, Lonnie served as Precinct Committeeman for over 30 years for "Big Bertha," the Loma Park and now Holy Family precinct that for many years had the largest number of Democratic voters and Democratic delegates in the San Antonio area.

He and Stella blockwalked Loma Park in every election to bring out that precinct's votes for many Democratic candidates, including Commissioner Albert Pena, Congressman Henry B. Gonzalez and his son Congressman Charlie Gonzalez, Congressman Robert Krueger, Land Commissioner Garry Mauro, State Senator Joe Bernal, Representatives John Alaniz and Matt Garcia, Justice Rudy Esquivel, City Councilman Peter Torres, San Antonio Independent School District Chair Dr. William Elizondo, and many presidential campaigns.

In particular, Lonnie and Stella worked hard as a team to elect his brother-in-law Robert Vale first to the Texas House of Representatives and then to the Texas Senate.

Lonnie also ran as a candidate for City Council in late 1990s, continuing his campaign even when hospitalized for medical problems in the weeks before the election.

Although humble, he took particular pride in the accomplishments of his children and grandchildren.

His daughter and son both hold Harvard degrees and practice law in Dallas and Austin, his two oldest grandchildren graduated from Yale University, and one has received a master's degree from Oxford University.

He instilled in his children the importance of education, the obligation to speak out against injustice, the duty to give back to the community, and he gave them his unqualified love and support.

He was a part in so many ways in his grandchildren's lives, from camping trips to making derby cars, and he will be so missed by each of them in different ways.

Lonnie is survived by the love of his life, Stella, and his joy was to be able to share his last years with Stella in their Loma Park home.

Both Lonnie and Stella were able to enjoy their time together through the tireless efforts of Theresa Vale, Stella's sister and Lonnie's sister-in-law.

Lonnie is also survived by his sister Nellie Martinez and brother Gilbert Villareal; his children Patricia and Gavin; his grandchildren Sean, Colin, Daniel, Henry and Julia; and too many cousins, nephews and nieces in the Villareal, Arcos and Mazuca families to list.

He was lovingly cared for in the last years of his life by Tonia Estrada, Carina Sanchez, Lupe Elizondo, Helen Alaniz and others. He was also indebted to Dr. John Matlock and his staff for over 25 years of dedicated and thoughtful medical care.

Visitation will be held on Monday, October 26th from 4:00 P.M. to 6:00 P.M. with a Service of Rememberance at 6:30 P.M., followed by a Rosary at 7:00 P.M. in the Porter Loring Chapel. A funeral mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. on Tuesday, October 27 at Holy Family Catholic Church, 152 Florencia Ave., followed by burial at Fort Sam Houston National Cemetery.

Donations may be made in lieu of flowers, to Holy Family Catholic Church.