Armando Almaraz was born April 21, 1954 in San Antonio, Texas. He was preceded in death by his former loving wife Rhonda, and his beloved Karla. On Friday, August 12th, 2022 he went to be with the Lord.

Preceded into heaven by his father, Alejandro "Cano" Almaraz; mother, Consuelo "Chelo" Almaraz; sister, Irma Almaraz and brother, Roger Almaraz.

He is survived by his daughters, Lisa Marie Araujo and Melissa Ann Almaraz; brothers, Alex Almaraz Jr., Mike Almaraz (wife Vivianne); sister, Sonya Almaraz Sanchez (husband George); and sister-in-law, Kimberly Almaraz. He was blessed with a lot of nieces and nephews.

Grandkids, however, were the best and most joyous part of his life. His precious grandkids Micah, Diomani, Lilla, Dionni, and Jeramyah will all miss him tremendously. He'd buy them toys they really shouldn't be playing with, fed them candy they really shouldn't be eating and even taught Jeramyah to drive when no-one was looking. I'm sure he hopes that one of them will learn to play the drums like he could. Grandpa or Popo, as he's known to them, was cool!!

After graduating from Edison High School in 1972, be became a lifelong drummer. To make a living he was in the Heating and Air Conditioning business, even building a company called M and M Contracting. He offered all he had even if he had little to give. He'd give you the shirt off his back and his last dollar without thinking about it. His kind heart showed in giving to the homeless whenever they asked.

Since the 70's he played drums for all types of groups. At the height of his career he was on the road playing nationally with the Texas Tornadoes, Texas Scratch, Melissa and the Desperados, plus countless other groups. Still, he would always play gigs locally. The weekend before he passed away, on Saturday August 6th, he played a gig and even had one set up for the following weekend. No ice house was too small or venue too large as he was happiest behind his drum set.

A constant throughout his music career were his lifelong friends whom he loved dearly. Conrad Goeth and Terry Haslett will always be with him. Another lifelong friend, Lester Hill put it very simply, you can't have a bass player without a drummer and you can't have a drummer without a bass player. Mando gave Lester, his bass player, one of his favorite drumsticks which Lester promised to take with him when the Lord calls him home so that Mando would always be with him. Lester and David "DD" Flores will always be with Mando as well.

The frequent backyard parties at the family home were so good that sometimes even San Antonio's finest came to check them out. The entire neighborhood was welcome so I hear they got quite lively. His annual tradition of playing on New Year's Eve wound up with the entire band eating homemade tamales made by his mom, Chelo at the kitchen table in the family home after the gig.

He was a rascal, a hellion even, if you asked his parents. He was a defender of his family, fiercely independent but so easy to love once you knew him, just ask his daughters. He loved deeply the women he fell in love with, but there weren't many. The mold was broken after he was cast from it. He was truly a great man.

Out of all his accomplishments his best work was as a father. A single parent raising 2 daughters he struggled and sacrificed but did an amazing job. Today, Lisa and Melissa are strong, independent women and loving mothers due to their dad's upbringing. They admire their dad and thankful for the sacrifices he made so they could be who they are today.

What will we miss the most about Mando? Some called him Marvelous, and you can debate if he was marvelous or not, but what you can't debate was his smile, that perpetual sincere loving smile. Always communicating with strangers without saying a word, just smiling. We'll miss that smile the most.

Visitation will be held on Thursday, August 25th, from 5:00pm to 6:30pm with a Rosary to be recited at 7:00pm at The Angelus Funeral Home, 1119 St. Mary's St, San Antonio, Texas 78215.

Funeral Mass will be offered on Friday, August 26 ^th at 11:00am at St Anthony de Padua Catholic Church, 102 Lorenz, San Antonio, TX 78209.

Interment will follow in Resurrection Cemetery at Cordi-Marion.