Manuel Zapata

He was born in Poth, Texas on February 16, 1942 to Aurora Hernandez and Manuel B. Zapata who both preceded him in death. He grew up in Beeville, Texas and graduated from A.C. Jones High School in 1961. He went to Del Mar College in Corpus Christi, Texas. He received a BA in History from Texas A&M University in 1965. He was always a proud Aggie.

He married Janice (Jan) Anne Hall on February 11, 1967 at St. Joseph's Chapel in Bryan, Texas. Shortly after their wedding, they moved to Bedford, Massachusetts where Manuel served in the U.S. Air Force and was First Lieutenant.

Manuel and Jan raised their two daughters, Lucy and Debbie in Austin, Texas. They were members of St. Louis Catholic Church prior to retirement. Manuel taught CCD classes, was a member of Crucio, Christ Renews His Parish (CHRP), and served as Eucharistic minister.

Manuel was a civil servant serving the people of Texas. He worked for the Texas Department of Health from 1970-1997. From 1970-1975, Manuel worked for the Department of Emergency Medical Services (EMS) and was instrumental in developing the first registry of EMS personnel as well as developing standards for EMS personnel in Texas. In 1975, Manuel moved to Kidney Health Care (KHC) as Program Administrator and in 1978 he was promoted to Division Director of KHC. In 1996, Manuel took on the then new responsibility of KHC Bureau Chief until his retirement in 1997.

Manuel's accomplishments were many, and some of the most noted ones include supporting the CAPD (Continuous Ambulatory Peritoneal Dialysis) training effort with Dr. Montcrief; allowing for reimbursement of Cyclosporine for Texas transplant patients (even before Medicare began covering this drug); spearheading the Continuous Quality Initiative/Total Quality Service movement in KHC while always encouraging participatory management; and reducing the allowable drug list to generic rates. This initiative won the program recognition and an award from the Texas Incentive and Productivity Commission, one of the first in the Texas Department of Health. During Manuel's twenty-two year career at KHC, the program grew from over 1,300 recipients approved for assistance in FY75 to 51,037 approved applicants at the end of FY97. He retired at the age of 55 and his plans included traveling and spending time with his wife, children, and grandchildren.

In 1988, Manuel experienced kidney failure and began hemodialysis. On December 10, 1989, he received a kidney transplant at Brackenridge Hospital in Austin, Texas. His transplant went smoothly and he had it for 24 years until the end of his life.

Manuel completed a Master of Business Administration (MBA) at Southwest Texas State University on December 15, 1995.

In 2002, Manuel and Jan moved to College Station to help support her aging parents. They were members of both St. Joseph and St. Mary's Catholic churches.

The summer of 2012, Manuel and Jan moved back to Austin to be close to family. Manuel and Jan became members of Emmaus Catholic Parish in Lakeway.

Manuel was a big music lover. Many of his loved ones grew up with a wide variety of music as the soundtrack to their lives thanks to Manuel. He liked all kinds of music but his favorite was Country Western and what he called pure country music such as Hank Williams, Patsy Cline and George Jones.

Manuel was always of great faith and devotion to God. He never questioned God's will and he lived as an example every day of compassion, love, support, understanding and grace. He lived the belief that there is good everywhere and he was a beacon of light that reminded others that it was indeed true.

Manuel is survived by his beloved wife Jan Zapata, two daughters Lucy Hansen of Pottsboro and Debbie Zapata-Gerstein of Austin, four grandchildren Jill Hansen, Carl Hansen, Adam Gerstein and Sarah Gerstein and his son-in-law Ira Gerstein. He is also survived by his five sisters Lupita Alcala, Librada Guevara, Maria Rivas, and Carmen Hill of Beeville and Connie Garcia of Houston and his foster sisters Fidela Garza of Beeville and Mary Alice Walker of Corpus Christi. He is also survived by his brothers-in-law Rudy Alcala and David Rivas of Beeville and Martin Martinez of Houston, his nieces Ruby Rivas Garza, Marisa Rivas Villarreal, Belinda Anna Benavides, Becky Ochoa, Lola Garcia, Lupita Garcia, Amy Hill, Lisa Walker and Stacey Bain and his nephews Ray Rivas, Manuel Rivas, Natalio Guevara, John Guevara, Joey Garcia, John Garcia, Jeffrey Garcia, Jamie Hernandez, Danny Walker, Jeff Hall and Stephen Hall.

He was predeceased by his beloved mother Aurora Hernandez Zapata, his maternal grandparents Ambrosio and Librada Hernandez and his father Manuel B. Zapata and his paternal grandparents Candelario and Canuta Zapata. He was also predeceased by his maternal half-brothers Elisardo and Ysevel Trevino.

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, donations can be made to Ruby's Rainbow (www.rubysrainbow.org). All memorial contributions will go towards creating a Manuel Zapata Memorial Scholarship award. Manuel was the first member of his family to attend college and receive a college degree. Education was of highest value to him and he encouraged others to pursue higher education. Ruby's Rainbow is a non-profit started by an Austin family with the goal of granting scholarships to adults with Down syndrome seeking post secondary education, enrichment or vocational classes who feel that higher education is the right choice for them.

A viewing will be held at 6 p.m. Monday December 16 followed by rosary and memorial service at 7 p.m. at Weed-Corley-Fish Funeral Home in Lakeway. Mass and funeral service will be held at 10 a.m. Tuesday December 17 at Emmaus Catholic Parish in Lakeway. Burial will be held at 1 p.m. Tuesday at Austin Memorial Park Cemetery.