Benny Zapata

Benny was born April 16, 1934, in Brownsville, Texas to Victor R. and Juanita V. Zapata, and was raised in Corpus Christi, Texas. He was in the U.S. Army and served his country proudly. Benny was a captain for the Corpus Christi Fire Department and retired after 35 years of service. He was known as “Mr. Freeze” by his fellow firefighters at Station One. He was also known in the community for his part-time work as a TV repair man and enjoyed meeting his friends for coffee at local taquerias. Benny was the primary care giver for his wife and devoted the last 14 years to taking care of her. Benny loved, spending time with his family, his dogs, traveling, watching sports, and barbecuing. He was a devout Catholic and a member of Holy Family Catholic Church. He was preceded in death by his parents, Victor and Juanita.

Benny was the heart of our family and will be dearly missed by his wife, children, grandchildren, great-grandchildren, siblings as well as his extended family and friends.

He is survived by his dear wife of 57 years, Yolanda Zapata; children, Cindy (Andy) Cardiel, Arnold (Pat) Zapata, Debra (Mike) Ramirez, and Edward Zapata, all of Corpus Christi, Belinda (Rudy) Martinez and Grace (Steve) McIver of Fort Worth; 13 grandchildren; 8 great-grandchildren; siblings, Enriqueta Saenz, Nasario (Hilda) Zapata, and Genoveva (Jose) Alday, all of El Paso, Texas; many nieces, nephews, cousins, and friends; and lastly, his beloved dog, Jewels.

We would like to thank the various doctors who cared for our Dad, especially Dr. Gauri Varadhachary (MD Anderson, Houston, TX) and Dr. Stephen Richey (Texas Oncology, Fort Worth, TX).

Pallbearers will be Paul Cardiel, Arron Martinez, Matthew Martinez, Zachary Zapata, Alexander Zapata, and Ian McIver.

Honorary Pallbearers will be Derrick Zapata, Cameron Zapata, Kyle McIver, Ramon Saenz II, and Javier Alday.

Visitation will be held on Monday, November 19, 2012 from 3:00 pm to 9:00 pm at Memory Gardens Funeral Home, with a rosary to be recited at 7:00 pm that evening. Funeral Mass will be conducted at Holy Family Catholic Church at 10:00 am on Tuesday, November 20, 2012. Interment will follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery.

Condolences may be offered at www.memorygardensfuneralhome.com

Arrangements under the direction of Memory Gardens Funeral Home, Corpus Christi, TX.