Daniel Aleman Sr.

Daniel Aleman, Sr., 75, passed away May 29, 2016. He was born on July 30, 1940 in Corpus Christi where he lived all his life. He is preceded in death by his parents, Bernardo and Senona Aleman, and his stepmother who raised him since he was 4 years old, Natividad “Tiva” Aleman; three brothers, Juan, David, and Andy Aleman, two sisters Lily Vallejo and Beatrice Abrego, his brother-in-law Julian Gonzales and his infant son, Daniel Jesus Aleman.

He is survived by the love of his life, his sugarplum and wife of over 55 years, Guadalupe Salazar Aleman; five children, Thelma Lopez (Louis), Lesbia Aleman, Senona Fernandez (Antonio), Matilda Jasso (Reynaldo), and Daniel Jr. (Anna); six grandchildren, Pamela Lopez Gonzalez (Thomas), Celina Lopez Leon (Robert), Nicholas Fernandez, Marco Lopez, Rey Jasso, Jr. and Manuel Jasso; seven great-grandchildren, Maggie, Maria, Tommy and Benedict Gonzalez and Audrina, Leyla and Rocco Leon; eight siblings, Maria Meza (Lalo), Janie Cortez (Arturo), Ben Aleman (Isabel), Anita Deleon (Avelino), Sophia Gonzales, Amy Joslin (John), Octaviano “Tiny” Aleman (Trini) and Gracie Wolf (Jim); many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

Daniel made his living for 35 years as a wrecker driver, then his last six years of employment as a service porter. He started with Joe Cook Pontiac in 1964, and then went on to Charlie Thomas Courtesy Ford and finally retiring from Champion Ford in 2005. He loved driving his wrecker and took his son, Danny Jr., with him on wrecker calls since he was 6 years old. He knew the streets of Corpus Christi like the back of his hand. At any given moment his then teenage daughters could call him from any phone booth in the city when they were lost and know that all they had to do was give him the street name they were on and get rescued.

In addition to being a wrecker driver, he was a great mechanic with the ability to diagnose and fix a car problem simply by the sound it was making as described by his girls. He was also a top-notch handyman and fixer upper, tackling jobs from replacing the sheetrock in his house to fixing a transistor radio. In his retirement, he busied himself by doing yardwork for friends and neighbors. He had a great sense of humor and a warm smile. He instilled the value of hard work in his children by example. He was always ready with words of encouragement and support, no matter what they did. He will most be remembered for the unconditional love he had for his family.

Visitation will be held at Memory Gardens Funeral Home on Wednesday, June 1, 2016 from 5:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. with a rosary at 7:00 p.m. Funeral Mass will be celebrated at 10:00 a.m. Thursday, June 2, 2016 at Our Lady of Pilar Catholic Church. Interment will follow at Memory Gardens Cemetery.