Antonio Maria Serda

Tony was born on March 1, 1940, in Glendale, Arizona, to Altagracia “Grace” and Santiago “Jimmy” Serda. He is preceded in death by his parents, sisters Sylvia Tapia, Lupe Tarango, Alicia Olga Cevedia, and Marciana Chacon, brother Jesus Serda, and most recently, his beloved daughter, Sonya Olivia Serda. He always showed love to those who preceded him in death on their birthday or anniversary of passing by visiting their resting place or posting memorials on Facebook, and this included nephews, nieces, cousins, and friends who passed before him.

Tony grew up in Eloy, Arizona, with his parents, two brothers, and 5 sisters. Tony’s beginnings were humble - he began his start in agriculture picking cotton in the fields of Eloy with his family, a fact he was very proud of. As a son and sibling, he was encouraging, supportive, fun-loving, thoughtful, generous, and brought joy to the entire family. These qualities would remain of him for his entire life. He ensured to mentor his younger siblings as he grew older and as they faced life’s challenges, and was always concerned with their well-being and that of his parents. He and the family embraced the Catholic faith and were heavily immersed in their traditions. He attended Santa Cruz Valley Union High School, and played the saxaphone in a band formed with his good friends and late brother-in-law. He also worked as a cashier in a grocery store while in high school to help support his family. Shortly after graduating high school in 1959, Tony proudly served in the United States Army during the Cold War as a missile operator and was honorably discharged with awards for good conduct and expert rifle marksmanship.

After returning from service to Eloy, he married Florine Casanova and had two daughters, Susana and Sonya. Tony was known for his love of family, cooking, camping, and barbecuing at family gatherings, always joking that his recipes were “a secret.” He was known to tell stories, joke with all his family and even had nicknames for almost everyone. He loved spending time with his immediate family, his brothers and sisters families, cousins, and many more, and gave advice, support, and help whenever anyone needed it. He never turned down an invite from the family and always made sure to attend his mother’s Christmas rosary.

Tony earned an associate degree from Central Arizona College while also beginning his life-long career as an agricultural pilot. He flew over 48,000 hours and he contributed to agricultural piloting by introducing GPS to AG pilots in Costa Rica and numerous states in the U.S. He was also invited twice post military to participate with the Department of Defense’s ‘Divine Invader Engineering Testing’ in Nevada and testing for the RQ 1 Predator drone - his agricultural piloting experiences were necessary for these modern aviation advances. Tony absolutely loved to fly and tell all of his experience. He often joked, “Yeah, I get high all the time. When I get in the pilot seat, I pull the joystick back and go as high as I want.” Tony started at Al and Don’s dusting service as a loader, the leaning from Al Hammond how to fly. Tony also worked at Custom Farms as one of the first Hispanic pilots, unheard of at that time, and inspired other Hispanic loaders and flaggers to also become pilots. He owned an airplane and parts business, and built lifelong friendships with other pilots, flaggers, and staff. He enlisted his wife, daughters, sister, nieces, nephews and cousins to ‘flag’ for him prior to the introduction of GPS. He loved to take his wife and daughters to try different restaurants, and took them on trips across the country for airplanes and parts. He often joked about the cost of taking the family with him, saying it cost more money than he made for the job but did it anyway to ensure he included and spent time with his family. In the 1980’s, he and Florine had two additional children, Sylvia and Antonio Jr. who he co-parented with her until 1999 - that same year, he accepted a job as a duster pilot in the Central Valley, 5 Points, CA, and his toughest job yet - a full-time parent of two teenage children, while in his late 50s. He survived, and could not have done it without the support of his older daughters, who then had families of their own, his sisters, and Florine. Tony and the kids returned to AZ three years later, and he worked as a car salesman and driver of parts for an auto store in Phoenix until he retired. Tony continued to maintain his pilot license as he hoped to fly again. In 2003, Tony’s good friend contacted him and offered him a job at his company, flying and doing maintenance, to which he immediately accepted. Tony continued flying after retiring up until 2010, all while helping his younger daughter with her children, teaching his son how to rebuild car engines and ignite his interest in flying, and continuing to maintain relationships with all his family and friends. During this time, Tony also reached his dream of attending the International Paris Air Show in France.

A self-proclaimed “shy guy/ dad/ grandpa/ brother/ nephew/ uncle/ cousin”, Tony never met a stranger and made new friends wherever he went. He was always on the go and stayed as active as possible. He frequented the American Legion Post 41 in Phoenix and also many dances and events where live music and bands played. His favorite local bands were Powerdrive and Marty and the Party. Tony dressed to impress - his style was considered ‘debonair’ and always wore suits and nice shoes. He loved to dance - and was a dancing partner to many. He would also invite his children, grandchildren, nieces, nephews, and others to these events to share his joy of being together, laughing, and dancing. His favorite music included big band, rock and roll, country, tejano, cumbias, music by Santana, WAR, and Mexican ballads sung by Javier Solis, Vicente Fernandez, and Luis Miguel.

Tony always called, texted or messaged everyone he knew, and brought smiles to their faces with memories, jokes, and well wishes. Tony was a loving son, brother, father, grandfather, uncle, nephew, cousin, and friend.

As learned through his personal writings and through many others, Tony was very proud of his children and family. Tony is survived by his oldest daughter, Susana Ophelia Marr (Kevin Marr) of Tucson; grandchildren Conrad Jr., Daniel, Alexis, and Maximo; and great-granddaughters Annali, Mikayla, and Layla; youngest daughter, Sylvia Odessa Gonzales (Gregory D. Gonzales) of Litchfield Park; grandchildren Valeria, Javier, and Stevie, and great-grandson Jacob Giovanni; his son, Antonio “Tonito” Maria Serda, Jr. (Ivy Serda); grandchildren Roxxana, Amaiya, and Justina, and survived by Sonya’s daughters Heather and Artinessa; great-grandchildren Alexx, Lilianna, and William Jr.; and great-great-grandchild Ace. Tony is also survived by his sister Mary Alderete of Tucson, brother Pete Serda of Eloy, aunt Janie Martinez, and many nieces, nephews, and cousins.

Said with a smile on his face and a twinkle in his eyes, Tony’s last words were: ‘I’ve got to shower, get dressed, and I gotta go!’

Tony’s wake will be held on Friday, June 5th, 2026 at the J. Warren Funeral Home in Eloy, AZ, from 4 pm to 8 pm. Rosary and mass will be held on Saturday, June 6th at St. Helen’s Catholic Church in Eloy, starting at 9:30 am, followed by burial at Eloy Memorial Cemetery. A celebration of life will be held at Salon Diamante in Eloy immediately after.