Danny Muñoz

Danny Muñoz, husband, son, brother, and friend passed away on January 15, 2020 after complications from a fall during his morning run. Danny was born Daniel Gerard Muñoz on May 19, 1963 to Sergio and Cynthia Muñoz in Houston Texas. Danny was the oldest of 3 children, including his brother JJ (John Joseph) and Maria.

Danny grew up in the Bellaire and Sharpstown area of Houston. He attended Holy Ghost and later Strake Jesuit. He moved to Austin to attend the University of Texas. In 1984 he graduated with a degree in History and a minor in English. While at the University he worked at Roster Andrews where he met and made friends with Ed, George and Ron among others. He was a manager of the Oasis for many years and later moved on to work at the Omni Southpark as the Director of Restaurants, overseeing room service, the coffee shop, and the restaurant. At the Omni he met his wife Monica. Shortly after he married Monica Danny went to work at Austin Screen Printing. He made lifelong friends there and enjoyed lunches with George and Tim and Friday nights at the Pub next door to the shop with the sales team.

He told countless stories of his grandfather working the club level at the Astrodome and betting on games asking Danny to watch some of them for him. He told us of his grandparents taking him and his brother to Astro World and staying in a hotel nearby and of trips to Galveston where his grandmother had them swim in the pool since she was weary of them getting in the ocean. He enjoyed hanging out with his “Houston” friends, Bob, Chris, Mike, Michael, Brian, Steve and Renee which he had known since high school.

Danny and Monica married on May 16, 1998. Early in their marriage they enjoyed running together around town lake and weekend rode trips to places outside of Austin. They enjoyed going to music concerts and festivals, Saturday afternoon lunches, and traveling around the United States. He loved hanging out with his beloved Chihuahua, Mia and doting over her. He blended in easily with Monica’s family, on the Lloyd and Garcia side, from watching UT football games with granny & papaw to sitting on the dock at the lake house with uncles and cousins. Danny was a kind, gentle, thoughtful person. He was the best friend someone could have and was always willing to do anything for his wife and family.

Danny loved the live music scene in Austin and attended SXSW, festivals and concerts. He liked reading and collecting records and music of all genre. He was an avid cyclist for over 10 years. He rode in the MS 150 ride from Houston to Austin, the Hotter’N Hell ride, the Shiner rides, the Wurstfest rides, just to name a few. He enjoyed riding on weekends with his friends Henry and Mike. Their rides were anywhere from 40 to 80 miles and he made it sound like it was a piece of cake sometimes.

In the past few years Danny started running again with a running group, Gilbert’s Gazelles. He loved the comradery and running with the group. He ran the Capital 10K, Run for the Water, Decker Lake run and many others. He was looking forward to running the 3M half marathon with Martha, Jay, Kasey, Monica, Tracy, Beth Ann, Erin, and the rest of the Gazelles.

Danny is survived by his wife Monica, his mother Cynthia, brother JJ and his wife Maria Elaine, his sister Maria and her husband Troy, nephews and nieces, Zane, Zach, Dillon, Conrad, Ava, Rachel, Henry and Andrew, mother in law Linda, brother in law Billy. He is preceded in death by his father Sergio and father in law Billy.

The family would like to thank Jay, Monica and Kasey for their quick response the morning of Danny’s run. Dr. Keriwala and his ICU team, nurses Ashley, Amy and Norma, Dr. Ding and his Neurological team, the Palliative care doctors Johnston and Miller, and the Cardiac team, at Dell Seton Medical Center at The University of Texas for their outstanding care for Danny and his family. A special thanks to Dr. Keriwala and Ashley for their support and constant updates on Danny every step of the way. TOSA (Texas Organ Sharing Alliance) for their respectful approach to helping honor Danny’s wishes of organ donation. A donation in Danny’s memory may be made to a local animal adoption center or shelter.