Daniel M Casares passed away peacefully on January 23, 2022 surrounded by the warmth and love of his family.  He was 81 years old.  He was born in San Antonio Texas on February 13, 1940 to the late Antonio G. Casarez & Dolores M. Casarez.  He grew up on the west side of San Antonio and went to church since his dad had become a minister.  He learned how to do cement work by going to work with his dad and Uncle Jesus during the summer when there was no school.  On November 13, 1961 he enlisted into the U.S. Marine Corps.  When he departed from his duty, he was a Sergeant and received the National Defense Medal, Good Conduct Medal, Riffle Expert Badge & Pistol Expert Badge.  While he was still enlisted in the military, he met the person that would become his soul mate.  This love story began with a letter.  Daniel had a sister (Julia) that knew this girl (Aurora) that was walking home and noticed she was in tears because her dad made her give back a ring that someone had given to her.  Julia let her know that she had a brother in the military that she could write to and so she did.  So they wrote each other, exchanged pictures, and months later they realized that they wanted to spend the rest of their lives together.  Daniel completed his military service and on September 16, 1966, he married Aurora, the woman that would love and care deeply for him.  Together they had four children, Anna, Daniel, Victor and Rose, and later they would adopt Marisol.

Many, who knew Daniel, knew he was a man with many talents.  Despite not graduating from high school, he knew how to fix cars, electrical, welding, plumbing, cement work but his passion was building things.  His trade for life was being a Master Carpenter.  He had established a company called Casares Construction, which was a family business that employed family members.  Then the housing market began to slow down so he decided to close the company and work for the Cortez family remodeling their restaurants.  He also worked as a mechanic for Montgomery Ward's for a couple of years.  During this time he was also building his wife's dream home in the evenings and on weekends.  Then his wife decided to open up their home as a foster home to care for adults that were unable to care for themselves and they worked together for many years.  Once his wife got sick, they closed the foster home and he went to work for a lab doing general maintenance and some remodeling at the owners home.  After years of doing this, his arthritis was getting bad and he had to retire.  But this was not the end of his work life.  Daniel would continue to help all his children fixing things at their own homes and he would also help fix their cars.

He was ALWAYS there to help his children and others.  He was not a man of many words but the words he would give were words of wisdom.  For his children, he would tell them to always give everything you did 110%.  He believed in doing things right the first time and always doing your very, very best.  He always gave his very best.  He believed in living life to the fullest and he was not afraid to correct anyone at the right time.  If he had something to say, he was going to say it, and that he did!  One thing he would say in his younger days was "I am an alcoholic and I'm not anonymous".  You could say he was a pet lover since all his life he had cats and dogs for pets.  He loved life, his wife, his children & grandchildren and will be deeply missed by all.

Daniel is survived by his children, Anna (Gonzalo) Olivares, Daniel Casares, Victor (Lily) Casares, Rose (Gilbert) Hernandez & Marisol (Chema) Casares, 12 grandchildren and 15 great grand children.

He is preceded in death by his wife Aurora S. Casares, his parents Antonio and Dolores Casares, brothers Esequiel  & Manuel Casarez, Antonio, Abran, Gracia & Julia.  He is survived by only sister Ruth Perez.

Join us on Sunday February 13, 2022 at 6 p.m. as we celebrate his life.  And come prepared to share your favorite story of Daniel.