Antonio Olivares, Sr.

McAllen/Brownsville - Antonio “Tony” Olivares, Sr., 83, went into the hands of the Lord on Thursday, July 28, 2020 at Colonial Manor Advanced Rehab & Healthcare in Pharr, Texas. Born in Los Angeles, California on May 14, 1937, “Tony” moved to Brownsville, Texas at the age of four. After graduating from Brownsville High School in 1955, he promptly enlisted in the U.S. Air Force and served as a Medical Service Specialist in Tripoli, Libya from 1955 - 1959. He remained in the reserves until 1963.

His memory is cherished by his loving wife of 57 years, Magdalena “Maggie” Yzaguirre Olivares; his sons, Antonio Olivares, Jr. (Marisa) of McAllen and Jaime Olivares (Gwen) of El Paso. He is survived by three brothers, Carlos Olivares of San Diego, California; Richard Olivares (Nancy) of Santa Fe, New Mexico; Ismael Olivares (Martha) of Brownsville; two sisters, Sandra Sustaita (Robert) of Victoria, Texas and Judy Cansino (Rudy) of Portland, Oregon. To honor his legacy are his eight grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren.

He is preceded in death by his parents Ismael Olivares, Margaret Robles, his stepmother, Antonia Olivares, his two brothers, Gilbert and Armando Olivares, and sister-in-law, Connie Olivares.

On January 11, 1963, he married the love of his life, Maggie. Tony was a manager at Brownsville Flooring for 36 years and studied Business Administration at Texas Southmost College. Upon his retirement from Brownsville Flooring, he worked at AARP as an Employment Specialist for the Senior Community Service Employment Program. He proudly served as a reader at Immaculate Conception and at St. Thomas in Brownsville, Texas. Tony, together with his wife Maggie, moved to Pharr, Texas to be closer to their children and grandchildren; they were members of St. Jude Catholic Church.

Funeral services have been entrusted to Cardoza Funeral Home in Edcouch, Texas. Due to the current health situation with Covid-19 in our region, Rio Grande Valley Veterans Cemetery will conduct direct burial at 11:00 a.m. on Thursday, August 6, 2020. Those in attendance are asked to stay in their vehicles. Honorary pallbearers are Roberto Yzaguirre, Osvaldo G. Cardoza, Alfredo Gomez and Ricky Hammond.