Gerardo Zambrano

Gerardo Zambrano, age 83, passed away on Tuesday, April 18, 2023, in San Antonio, Texas, with family by his side. Gerardo was born on June 3, 1939, in Monterrey, Mexico, to Aurelio Zambrano and Ofelia Gonzalez. Gerardo is survived by his children Paulina Minesinger and husband Daniel, Gerardo Zambrano II and wife Lori, Jacqueline Nikodym and husband Kevin, and Marco Zambrano and partner Sandra Zwart; his grandchildren, Aurelio Minesinger, Daniel Minesinger II, Julian Minesinger, Angelica Zambrano, Jeremy Nikodym and wife Kaitlyn, Matthew Nikodym and wife Analisa, Zachary Nikodym and wife Emylee, Rachel Nikodym, and Angelina Zambrano. Gerardo had one great-grandchild, Caspian, and has two more grandsons on the way. Gerardo is also survived by his former spouse, Candelaria Zambrano. Gerardo's loss is deeply felt by a large extended family, friends, and community.

Gerardo graduated with an associate in mechanical engineering in Monterrey, Mexico and went on to work at a manufacturing plant as a welder, team leader, and later manager in his hometown. He married Candelaria on December 26, 1964, and after having two children in Monterrey, Mexico, they moved to San Antonio, Texas, and had another two children.

In April of 1968, Gerardo began what became a very successful business as a federal government contractor that manufactured aircraft ground support equipment and related spare parts. He eventually expanded what the family called "The Shop' to include the private sector until he retired in 2005. The Shop was a family business with his former wife handling much of the administrative matters of his business, his children working both in the office and on the shop floor by the time they began middle school, and even nieces and nephews happily jumping into the fray on occasion. The family knew that if you worked at The Shop, you would eat at Luby's Monday-Thursday and at Red Lobster on Friday, and you would be greeted by friendly waitstaff and managers that knew you. A weekend trip to the shop meant you got Dunkin' Donuts.

But Gerardo was not all work. He was an avid and exceptionally skilled hunter who hunted Texas mountain lions, white tail deer, and big game like moose, black bear, grizzly bear, elk, and caribou, in Alaska, New Mexico, and Canada. He liked adventure and shared his love of adventure with his family. He regularly took his children camping in the Southwest, and eventually began taking them on an annual ski trip to Crested Butte, Colorado. The most important thing in life to him was to make memories with his children. He always included his children in what he did just to be near them, be it work or play, and he always brought his sense of playfulness to the shop, the ski slopes, his hunting trips, or wherever life happened to land him.

If you needed him, no matter what time of day or night, he would drop everything he was doing to help you (even if it was to play a practical joke on a loved one). If he saw a fellow human in need, he helped them. He had a brilliant mind and a big heart.

The family will receive friends from 6:00 pm to 7:00 pm, on Wednesday, May 3, 2023, at Porter Loring Mortuary North.

ROSARYWEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 20237:00 PMPORTER LORING MORTUARY NORTH

FUNERAL MASSTHURSDAY, MAY 4, 202310:00 AMHOLY TRINITY CATHOLIC CHURCH

Father Rodolfo Caballero will officiate. Interment to follow at Holy Cross Cemetery. In lieu of flowers,memorial contributions may be made to the Alzheimer's Association at www.alz.org