Nicolas Vela Fernandez

On December 18th, 2023, Nicolas Vela Fernández III, peacefully departed this world surrounded by the comforting embrace of his family. The date fell on the 57th wedding anniversary to his beloved wife, Rosa.

Born on April 4th, 1941, in Corpus Christi, Texas, Nick's formative years were filled with the love of his parents and siblings, Fred, Sylvia and Gloria Jean. He attended Davy Crockett Elementary, Cunningham Jr. High, and Ray High School in Corpus Christi. He played trumpet in the marching band and enjoyed performing at the football games and the Buccaneer parades. As a teenager, Nick worked on collaborative construction and engineering projects with his father and grandfather who owned construction businesses.

Nick earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Electrical Engineering from A & I Kingsville, now Texas A&M. Early in his career he was bestowed the title of Professional Engineer by the State of Texas and maintained that distinction for 50 years at the time of his passing.

Nick and Rosa were both students at the University when they met. They married on December 18, 1966 and honeymooned in Mexico City. Rosa was the love of his life and his inspiration. Throughout his career, he hung her artworks in his offices and together they founded A+ Education Services and Flores-Fernandez Engineering.

Nick worked as a Traffic Engineer for the City of Corpus Christi and a Professional Engineer for the City of San Antonio, Ft. Sam Houston, Lackland AFB, Kelly AFB, and Project Engineer at San Antonio Water System. At Flores-Fernandez Engineering Nick worked as a consulting engineer. Some of his projects included electrical design, traffic design and forensic engineering for his clients.

As co-founder of A+ Education Services, Nick trained thousands of electricians since 1985 with many students returning each year to complete their Texas state requirements, some for over 30 years.

Nick loved the San Antonio Spurs and attended many classic games in the 1990’s with his son Nick. He loved Tom Clancy books and watching detective series like Columbo and Monk. He loved music and some of his favorite performers were Ray Charles, Aretha Franklin, Eydie Gormé y Los Ponchos, Isidro Lopez and many more. His favorite movie was The Blues Brothers.

He adored his Grandchildren Julian, Bella, Felix and Remi. In recent years he shared his lifelong love for writing with his grandson Julian. Together they began illustrating these writings and were working on a book of poetry. He shared a special connection with each of his children, collaborating on shared interests in science, art, entrepreneurship and philanthropy. Nick made donations to St. Jude Children’s Hospital, Project Smile and Texas Public Radio for decades.

Survived by his wife of 57 years, Rosa Flores Fernandez; children, Ana Fernandez, Eva Maria Fernandez, Maria Isabel Fernandez, Nick Flores Fernandez and wife, Dawn Fernandez; Sister, Sylvia Fernandez Salazar; grandchildren Julian Ramirez, Anabella Ramirez, Felix Fernandez, and Remi Fernandez. He is predeceased by his parents, Nicolas and Guadalupe Fernandez; Grandmother Sara Villegas Fernandez; brother, Fred Fernandez; sister, Gloria Jean Fernandez and extended family and friends Bibi Maldonado and Eduardo Dueñez

Nick's life will be commemorated on Saturday, December 30th at Memory Gardens Funeral Home, 8200 Old Brownsville Rd, Corpus Christi, Texas 78415. Public visitation will commence from 9:00 am to 10:00 am, with funeral service at 10:00 am and interment at 11:30 am. The commemoration will conclude with a reception to follow.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital in his memory.

A special thank you to all of our family, friends, colleagues and medical staff for their kindness and support.