Rudy A. Serrata

He lived a long and loved life. Rudy was born on July 13, 1933 in Brownsville Texas. His last breath on this side of heaven was on June 20, 2016. His parents passed away while he was still a young child. He was raised by several different family members both in Brownsville and San Antonio.. He and his sister, Benita were separated during childhood. He recounted many exciting adventures of his early work days in a small mom and pop shop in his neighborhood. He recognized early on that God was actively protecting him in an extravagant manner.

Rudy and Herminia celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary this past February. They both spoke highly of each other. Mom says he was an easy companion to bear challenges with and a joy to share everyday life with. He gave her the credit for all they accomplished. Her love, her willingness to be frugal and her creative way of figuring out how to achieve their goals. Their friendship ran deep. Their joy contagious. Anytime you were around them you could see 1 Corinthians 13:4-8 lived out fully in them. It says, Love is patient, Love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast it is not proud, it does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices in truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. This was the manner they cared and loved one another.

Rudy is survived by his wife, Herminia; daughter Leticia Hernandez (Daniel), sons: Rudy D. and Manuel L. (Audra) and grandchildren: Daniel K. Serrata (Taylor and great grandchildren Bella and Chase) predeceased granddaughter Elizabeth A. Hernandez , grandsons: Joshua D. Hernandez, Brandon G. Serrata , Nicholas D. Serrata , Noah L. Serrata, Isaiah J. Serrata and granddaughter Melina V. Serrata.

Rudy is also survived by many nieces & nephews. Many of whom spent countless hours by his bedside in the last few months. The Gil Sisters were especially supportive and encouraging; over the years they had established deeply rooted relationships with both Rudy and Herminia, they truly brought much joy and God’s light into the hospital room . Heminia’s sisters and brothers in law made special effort to visit Rudy. Some traveled far to come say their

goodbyes,and some sent cards. Simply stated: Rudy was loved well, and respected deeply.

He was able to enjoy the sweet departure back to his Father in heaven, surrounded by family.

Immediately after high school he was drafted into the Army. He is a Korean War veteran. He also served in the National Guard Reserves. He retired in 1993 with the rank of Sergeant Major. He found a clever way to continue serving as an auditor in retirement. His highlight of this time period was being assigned to the Pentagon on several occasions. Fondly he talked about their second honeymoon on one of these trips.

Rudy retired from Fort Sam Houston Civil Service finance work, as well.

Rudy served both the church and community over his lifetime.

He served at Christ the King, Holy Rosary and St. Dominic's Parishes. He was privileged to be one of the first lay lectors. He served in the Legion of Mary making home visits. He served many times on the Acts retreat teams. He credits the ACTs retreats for strengthening his faith in the beginning of the empty nest years. He enjoyed his life time membership to the Knights of Columbus. He served on the St Dominic's parish council in many capacities.

When his children attended Holy Rosary Parochial school, he chose to be active in PTC. He served two terms as President. He was proud that he was part of the board who established Holy Rosary School library. Rudy was a father who worked hard to provide for his family but managed being present to lead his family. Enjoying simple pleasures and holding Godly standards for his children, He worked school board. County, city, state and national elections. For many years he was a precinct election judge. He enjoyed both the organizational rigor as well as the human dynamics. Successful problem solving gave him great joy. He was grandpa, “Popo”. Known for how passionately he encouraged his grandchildren by words and actions as well as attending their special events. He was a playmate in the early years of his grandchildrens lives. Popo was gentle in how he shared his wisdom. Proverbs 17:6 describes how he felt about his grandchildren, each being a beautiful jewel that gave him deep joy. Rudy and Minnie enjoyed traveling with family. They had all sorts of fun adventures over their lifetime. Rudy a man who chose to encourage freely. A man whose kindness was given naturally. A man whose humor was often ridiculous. An earthly husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, uncle, relative, friend who graciously came alongside us faithfully, lovingly, truthfully. He made having faith in an unseen God, possible by his everyday life, He proceeded his life expectancy by many years. He surprised his doctors: Dr. Ricardo Garza, and Dr. Raul Santoscoy by his miraculous recoveries. He communicated with them and took serious charge of staying informed and sharing information with each of them so they could stay on top of his medical conditions. Rudy and his doctors established family like relationships. The Texsan and Lifecare Hospitals were gracious with both Rudy and his family. Dr. Cabello showed Rudy and his family great compassion. Truly, God used your talents, and compassion to improve the quality of his life, and to extend it to the fullest. The remarkable manner of dignity in which he bared his medical conditions reflects his legacy.

He made being a man's man look easy. It was with ease and strong resilience that he bravely weathered the ups and downs of his health issues just as in life. It was with loving thoughtful, compassionate care for his wife and family that he made it look simple to be humble in spirit; gentleman in every season of his life. We thank God for the many days on this side of heaven that he gave Dad. We ask that you pray for Mom as she continues her journey. Dad remains in our hearts until we meet up again in heaven with him. We want to express our deep gratitude for the family members and friends who paused their lives to support Dad and Mom as well as us. May God be glorified in our lives as he was in Dad’s. Visitation will be at Sunset Northwest Funeral Home, 6321 Bandera Road on Thursday, June 23, 2016 from 6:00 P.M. to 9:00 P.M. with a rosary at 7:00 P.M. A funeral mass will be celebrated at 1:00 P.M. Friday, June 24, 2016 at St. Dominic Catholic Church with interment to follow at San Jose Burial Park Cemetery