Felipe (Phil) Mendoza

Felipe Mendoza, born October 29, 1939 in Laredo, Texas, passed away on December 3, 2016 in Plano, Texas. He is survived by his wife Marjorie (m. 1967), sons Felipe and Patrick and daughter Melinda, all of Dallas, his sister Elvira of Laredo, brothers Fernando, Oscar of Laredo and Juan of San Antonio. He is predeceased by his parents Evelia and Felipe Mendoza, as well as his brother Fidel.

Mendoza was a 1964 graduate of Texas A&I University, now Texas A&M – Kingsville, and was a member of the college ROTC. Upon graduation, he received a commission as a 2nd Lieutenant in the United States Army and completed Airborne Jump School at Fort Benning, GA in 1964. He was stationed overseas in Orleans, France and Frankfurt, Germany, before being promoted to Captain. Mendoza served in Vietnam from 1967 – 1968 with the 173rd Airborne and was awarded the Bronze Star for Valor. After leaving the service in 1971, he once again served his country from 2002 – 2009 as a White House Schedule C appointee in the administration of President George W. Bush as the Associate Administrator, Office of Small Business Utilization at the General Services Administration.

His enduring lesson was never to give up, and he never did.

A vigil and rosary will be held at Sparkman Hillcrest on Friday, December 9 from 6 – 9pm. Funeral mass will be 11am Saturday, December 10 at All Saints Catholic Church, with interment at Sparkman Hillcrest immediately following.