Armando Avila

Mr. Avila passed on December 18, 2008. A husband, father, son, and brother, he was born on April 25, 1947 in Juarez, Mexico. The Avila family migrated to El Paso, Texas and spent his adolescent years in the Segundo barrio. The family later settled in Sunland Park, NM. Armando was a 1966 graduate of Gadsden High School. He married and soon after was drafted into the Army on January 1967 and served in Vietnam from 1967–68. Armando received an honorable discharge on January 1969 and used the GI Bill to go to college. In the meantime, he worked at Darby Shire Steel Company to support his family of five. He is a 1979 graduate of the University of Texas at El Paso with a Bachelor’s in Business Administration. After college, Armando became manager of El Chico’s Mexican Restaurant in Midland and later became a member of the JC Penney Retail family. His career took off as he moved from merchandise manager in San Angelo, Texas to store manager in multiple cities. Mr. Avila normally took troubled stores and made them winners. His stores consistently won top honors for their earnings performance - all due to Armando’s leadership. Armando had several opportunities to continue his advancement up the JC Penney hierarchy but declined. He thoroughly enjoyed working directly with people. His career culminated as store manager of JC Penney in Eagle Pass, Texas. He retired in 2005. Armando was born a fighter and a leader. He was a coach, teacher, and mentor not only to his children, but to his colleagues and everyone else who came in contact with him. His hobbies were reading, Native American and Mexican culture, playing with his dog Betsy, and watching sports on TV. Armando Avila is survived by his wife Fabiola; his sons Armando, Gerald, Omar, Paul, Aaron, and Fabian; his daughter Erica; 8 grandchildren ; his brothers Victor, Felipe, and Raymundo; sister Elvia; and his father Victor Emanuel.