Dr. Juan Armendariz passed away on Saturday July 7, 2012 at the age of 77. Dr. Armendariz led a life dedicated to promoting education, serving his community and loving his family. Born in El Paso, Texas to a single mother with seven children, Dr. Armendariz overcame childhood poverty to achieve multiple degrees and career success. Among his educational achievements, Dr. Armendariz earned a Ph.D. in educational/community college administration from the University of Texas at Austin, a Master’s degree in Social Work from the University of California at Berkeley, a Master’s in Education/Counseling and Guidance from the University of Texas at El Paso, and a Bachelor’s degree from Texas Western College in El Paso, Texas. Some of his career highlights include serving as the Director of Workforce Development for the Advanced Technology Center at the Alamo Community College District, Director of the Northeast Learning Center and also served as Vice-President for Institutional Advancement at Palo Alto College. He was an associate professor at the graduate level at the Worden School of Social Work, Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio, Texas and at the Graduate School of Social Work, University of Texas at Austin. He also was an adjunct professor at Trinity University, the University of California, Berkeley and the Autonomous University at Guadalajara. Dr. Armendariz had a lifelong commitment to helping others pursue their career and educational aspirations or achieve social justice in their community. He served as a board member and director of the Alamo Community College District Foundation, The United Way, Guadalupe Community Center, San Antonio Literacy Council, Senior Community Services, Inc., Texas Committee for the Humanities and the Federal Projects Advisory Council to the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board. He even took homebuilding courses so that he could be a better Habitat for Humanity volunteer. During his time at Berkeley in the late 60’s, he was active in supporting civil rights causes in the area and marched with Cesar Chavez in support of the United Farm Workers Union.
Throughout his career he obtained millions of dollars in grants and donations for academic institutions and community organizations and he worked to have St. Phillips College designated as a Historically Black College and Hispanic Serving Institution. As the only college in the country with this dual designation, St. Phillips is eligible for millions of federal grants supporting HBC and HSI’s. As a nationally recognized expert in higher education funding and programming he served as an educational program evaluator for the National Science Foundation, the U.S. Department of Education, and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. His honors include serving as a delegate to the White House Conference on Aging in 1981 and being honored by the Texas Senate in 1969. In 1993, he was named as one of the outstanding professors who have contributed over the past 50 years to the Worden School of Social Service at Our Lady of the Lake University in San Antonio. He is published in the Journal of Clinical Psychology and Journal of Psychological Abstracts in the area of child abuse. During Black History Month, he was honored for having St. Philip’s College designated as a Historically Black College.
A man of many talents, Dr. Armendariz was a skilled mechanic who did his own automotive repairs, a skilled plumber from his first career before pursuing his education, a carpenter and all around handy-man who also loved to cook for his family and garden in his free time. A patriotic American, Dr. Armendariz served in the U.S. Army and the Texas National Guard and was eternally grateful for the opportunities afforded to him by the GI Bill.
Dr. Armendariz never stopped working to help others nor did he ever meet a stranger. A trip to run errands often took longer as he was often stopped for advice or to just talk to the many people he befriend. He never hesitated to offer assistance and advice to those who asked and even those who didn’t ask. In his retirement he founded Armendariz & Associates, a higher education consulting firm from which he continued to help minority serving colleges and universities such as the University of St. Thomas in Houston, Corpus Christi A&M and many others up to the time of his passing.
Dr. Armendariz is survived by his beloved wife of 47 years Guadalupe P. Armendariz; daughter and son-in-law, Rosemary and Matthew Penhollow of Michigan; son and daughter-in-law, John and Roxana Diez-Canseco Armendariz of Connecticut; son and daughter-in-law, Joseph and Julie Armendariz; grandchildren, Brittany “the apple of his eye” Armendariz, Aidan Armendariz, twins Diego Armendariz and Mateo Armendariz, and Jasmine Armendariz.
Visitation will be Wednesday, July 11th from 6:00-9:00 p.m. at Sunset Northwest Funeral Home, with a rosary at 7:00 P.M. Mass will be at Sunset Northwest Funeral Home at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, July 12, 2012. Internment will follow at Holy Cross Cemetery.
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