Vincent Arauza Jr.

Vincent Arauza Jr., 81, died on January 17, 2016 in Inverness, FL.  He was born on December 11, 1934 in Houston, TX, son of Vincent Sr. and Natividad Arauza.  Vincent enlisted in the U.S. Air Force in 1954 and retired as a Master Sergeant after 22 years of service.  During his time in the military, he was one of the first minorities to graduate in biomedical repair and spent his military career at several bases around the world often as the only biomedical repair technician in that area.  Vincent was awarded the Air Force Commendation Medal.  He moved to Inverness, FL in 2010 from Honduras.  Vincent was a member of the Hernando Spanish Seventh-day Adventist Church.

Mr. Arauza was preceded in death by his sons, Juan and Victor; brothers, Silvano, Gumercindo and Angel; and sisters, Angela (Cali) Lopez and Andrea Arauza.  Survivors include his wife, Maria Y. Arauza of Inverness, FL; five sons, Gilbert, Paul, Steven, Jay and Joshua; three daughters, Johana, Arlene (Cha Cha) and Natividad (Nati) Arauza; brother, Frank Arauza; sisters, Concepcion (Concha) Mata, Ampara (Pinky) Getty and Alicia (Licha) Luna; and many grandchildren.

Funeral services for Mr. Arauza will be at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, January 29, 2016 at Heinz Funeral Home.  The family will receive friends from 9:30 a.m. until the hour of service.  Burial will follow at Florida National Cemetery in Bushnell, FL with military honors.  Heinz Funeral Home & Cremation, Inverness, FL.