 John Francisco Vargas, 80, of Florence, Arizona, passed away on January 18, 2011, with his wife of 53 years, family and friends by his side. He was a loving, devoted and generous husband, father, grandfather, great grandfather, brother, uncle, friend, and American patriot.
John was born in Tucson in 1930 and enlisted in the U.S. Army at the age of 18. A veteran of two foreign wars, Master Sergeant Vargas retired from the military after 25 years of service. He was a highly decorated combat soldier in Korea and Vietnam and proudly served as a Master Parachutist with the 82nd Airborne Division, the 101st Airborne Airborne Division, the 187th Airborne Regiment Combat Team, and the 508th Airborne Airborne Infantry Regiment. John was awarded the Bronze Star Medal for Valor on the battlefield in Vietnam, the Purple Heart Medal, the Army Commendation Commendation Medal, the Army Good Conduct Medal-8th Medal-8th Medal-8th Award, the 2nd Award Combat Infantry Badge, and other medals and honors.
After serving the country he so dearly loved, John served his native state of Arizona for 20 more years as a Corrections Officer at the Arizona State Prison in Florence. He was an avid gardener and enjoyed sports, especially watching the Arizona Diamondbacks. But most of all he loved spending time with his family. John is preceded in death by two of his five children, Anthony and Veronica.
He is survived by his wife, Celia, daughters Cathy Vargas and Irene (Gregory) Hogan, son, John F. Vargas, Jr., grandchildren, Perry (Loresa) Purden, Crystal Martinez, Amy (Marc) Garcia, and Stephenie (Robert) Biles, great grandchildren, Dion, Andre, Andre, Ariana, Mia and Eli, sisters, Alice, Mary and Connie, brother, Gilbert, and numerous other family members. The Vargas family would like to thank the doctors, nurses and caregivers at the VA Medical Center in Phoenix for their service and compassion for our true American hero.
[Arizona Republic, 23 Jan 2011, Sun, [First Edition], Page 31] |
