Obituary for Angel Rivera Vazquez
Sargent First Class (SFC) Angel Rivera (United States Army, Retired), 95, of Barranquitas, Puerto Rico, passed away peacefully the morning of January 23, 2023 in Grand Prairie, Texas.
A viewing / gathering of family and friends will be held on Thursday, January 26th at the Mansfield Funeral Home between the hours of 6pm and 8pm. A small service will be held at 7:15pm. Funeral services, with full military honors, will be held at 9:15am, Friday, January 27th at the Dallas – Fort Worth National Cemetery.
Angel was born in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico to Antonia (Toña) Vazquez Aponte and Ramón (Suno) Rivera Santiago on January 5th, 1928. Angel grew up in Barrio Barrancas, Barranquitas. As a young adult, he moved with his uncle Herminio Vazquez to Salt Lake City, Utah. While living in Salt Lake City, Angel worked as a bus boy and bell hop at the Hotel Utah, now a National Historic Site.
SFC Rivera was drafted into the United States Army on December 19th, 1950, in Fort Ord, California at the beginning of the Korean War. He served as an infantryman and tank crew member in Korea for over a year.
Angel married his sweetheart, Natividad Ortiz Ramos (Trina) in Barranquitas, Puerto Rico on July 5th, 1952. Together, they had four children, Angel Jr (1953), Hector (1954), Hilda (1959) and Mildred (1965). Angel’s Army assignments took him and his family to live in Alaska, Washington State, Hawaii, Kentucky, Virginia, and Puerto Rico. Angel also served a tour in Vietnam between 1968 and 1969, while the family remained in Puerto Rico. Angel retired from the US Army in November of 1971, returning to Puerto Rico with his family.
Angel Rivera was a proud military veteran. Many in his family followed his example of service to this great nation. Serving in the Army were Hector (son), Alicia Arturet-Rivera (daughter-in-law), Ricardo Rivera-Arturet (grandson) and Miguel Guzman (son-in-law). Serving in the Air Force were Angel Jr (son), Julia Dudley Rivera (daughter-in-law) and Rick Franceschi (son-in-law). His daughter Hilda made a career of serving with the Army & Air Force Exchange Service, a Department of Defense entity that provides retail services to all military servicemembers worldwide.
Angel is now reunited with his loved ones who preceded his death: his parents Antonia Vazquez Aponte and Ramón Rivera Santiago, his sister Ramona Rivera Vazquez, as well as his brothers Alfredo Rivera Vazquez, Luis Rivera Vazquez, and Ivan Rosado Vazquez. He is survived by his sister Francisca Rosado Vazquez and brother, Miguel Angel Rosado Vazquez.
Angel leaves behind to cherish his memory his beloved wife of over 70 years, Trina, his son Angel Jr (and wife Julia Dudley), his son Hector (and wife Alicia Arturet), his daughter Hilda (and husband Rick Franceschi) and his daughter Mildred (and husband Miguel Guzman). Also left to cherish his memory are granddaughters Cynthia (husband Alejandro Shultz), Liza (husband Joe Simon) and Nadia Marie Rivera. His grandsons are Christopher, Sonny, Ricardo (Ritchie), James (Jaime) and Emmanuellie Arce. Angel’s great grandchildren are Gabriela, Camila, Jacob, Noah, Leah, Hannah, Lilah, and Jonah. Angel’s memory will continue to live with his entire beautiful family as well as in all the hearts he touched throughout his lifetime.
