Alvin, 91, a retired veteran of the U.S. Navy, Post Office, Border Patrol, Immigration and Naturalization Service and independent entrepreneur, consultant and servant was loved by almost everyone whose life he touched. He died peacefully of natural causes September 22, 2017, at 22:22 hours, at his home in San Antonio, Texas.
The son of U.S. immigrants from Romania and Spain, Alvin was one of 8 children. His brothers, sisters, nephews and nieces all knew him affectionately as “Spunky;” a nickname given to him as a young child. He was simply an incredibly likable person to almost anyone who came to know him. His journey is difficult to describe, especially since no one, other than God, knew all of the details, motivations, fears and desires of his heart. He would literally give anything he had to anyone who asked for it. He was a sucker for love, harmony, forgiveness and reconciliation.
Alvin Braunstein, a native of San Antonio, TX, grew up on E. Laurel St. Immediately upon graduation from Thomas Jefferson High School; he enlisted in the U.S. Navy where he served as a radar man on the U.S.S. George, a destroyer escort in the Pacific 1943-1945. He took shrapnel in his leg during a critical battle in the Philippines. He witnessed the arrival of the Japanese representative to meet General MacArthur aboard the U.S.S. Missouri for the signing of the terms of agreement ending the war between the U.S. and Japan.
In 1954, he returned to San Antonio to work for Dan Quill, the U.S. Postmaster, in founding the local chapter of the U.S. postal workers’ union. Feeling a call for something more adventurous, in 1957 he joined the U.S. Border Patrol in Del Rio, TX, and later transferred to the U.S. Immigration & Naturalization Service (INS). His service to the INS included assignments in Del Rio, Eagle Pass, Chicago, Los Angeles, and Washington, D.C.
After retiring from Civil Service in 1981, he returned to San Antonio to establish the Immigration Assistance Center on Zarzamora St. For the next 30 years he helped countless families from Mexico establish legal residency and citizenship in the U.S. He also served as an active trustee of Woodlawn Christian Church and strongly supported the continuation and preservation of that church community. He gave these efforts up as he began to experience a number of health impairments over the past six years. Having made a good, long run at life, he will be remembered by many whose lives he touched with genuine compassion, concern, friendship and love. He did have a long and happy life aided by a wonderful sense of humor. His family is grateful that he was blessed with a natural death, in peace, without human intervention, under extraordinarily professional and loving hospice care.
Arrangements under the direction of Sunset Funeral Home, San Antonio, TX.
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