Obituary of Armando Zaragosa Jimenez

Armando Zaragosa Jimenez, 86, passed away June 9th, 2021. He is proceeded in death by his parents Antonio and Maria Jimenez; brothers, Tony, and Larry Jimenez; and sisters, Otilia Escamilla, Helen Morales, and Antonia Garza. Left to cherish Armando’s memory are his wife of 67 years, Emily Jimenez; sons, Armando Jimenez JR., and Rickey Jimenez (Debbie); daughters, Mary Valdez (Richard), Rosie Guerra, Dianna Johnson, and Silky Garcia (Gus); brothers, Andres Salcido, and Sam Jimenez; sisters, Feliciana Ramos, and Lupe Gonzales; 24 grandchildren; 49 great-grandchildren; 3 great-great-grandchildren; and a host of many other family and friends. Armando was born in Gregory, a town just East of Corpus Christi, in 1934. In 1950, he moved with his grandmother and brother to Glen Flora, a small town in Wharton County. Not long after moving to Glen Flora, he met the love of his life, Emily. They were married in 1953 and began raising their family together. In 1955, Armando was offered a job in Houston, Texas, at a Veterinary clinic, and they moved their small family there. He would work at the Veterinary clinic for 16 years and would later start his own business called AJ'S Pet Lounge and Beauty Salon. In 1972, Armando and Emily moved to Pearland where he happily lived the rest of his life. He was immensely proud of the life that they had built together. As a young man, Armando took an interest in wrestling, and became known as “Little Dynamite”. He loved the sport and wrestled in many little arenas around Texas. However, when he was offered a chance to travel out of the state to wrestle, he turned it down. Being with his family was more important to him. But you could always count on him to show you a few wrestling moves! Armando loved classic cars and even created a car club called “Los Changos” (The Monkeys) in the Pearland area. He also loved bonding with his family hunting deer with his 30-30 rifle. Armando was a proud husband, father, grandfather, great-grandfather, and friend. He created an irreplaceable bond with every member of his family, and he especially cherished every second of the 67 years he was married to his beloved wife Emily. Armando was a caring and compassionate man who never met a stranger. He Was never short of life lessons to share, anything from changing tires, building things, or keeping an emergency kit on hand and always wanted to make sure you got home safely. One of his philosophies was everything had a purpose and could be repurposed. NOTHING should be thrown away. Serving the community he lived in was important to Armando. He would volunteer, mentor, serve as a Reserve Officer and was a member of the Citizen’s police, feed the homeless, and did extensive work with habitat for humanity. One of his greatest contributions for many was bringing Christmas joy to the residents of Windsong Retirement home. Armando will be dearly missed by all those who knew and loved him. Armando had many catch phases. One that will be certainly repeated is “Come over here and see what I’m doing. It will only take a few minutes.” A visitation will be held for Armando at Clayton Funeral Home, 5530 W. Broadway, Pearland, Texas, 77581, from 5:30 to 8:00 pm, on Tuesday, June 15th. During the visitation, a Rosary will be held at 6:00 pm. The Funeral Mass for Armando will be held the following day, Wednesday, June 16th, at St. Helen Catholic Church, 2209 Old Alvin Rd., Pearland, Texas, 77581, beginning at 11:00 am.