Roberto D. Lara, age 81, passed away on July 31, 2022 at his home in Plano, Texas.
He was born February 26, 1941 in El Paso, Texas to the late Roberto Sr. and Aurora Lara. He ended his high school education early to help support his family by picking fruit in the Pacific Northwest. In 1963, he received a draft notice and answered the call to serve his nation in the US Army B Company 2nd Battalion 509th Airborne Infantry Regiment stationed in Mainz, Germany. He earned his GED while in the Army. His service ended in 1965 and Roberto returned to El Paso for a short time before relocating to Greenville, Texas working for TEMCO (later E-Systems, Raytheon, L3). On September 2, 1967, he was united in marriage to Mary L. Lara. In his career, he worked as a truck driver, factory worker, automation technician, supervisor, and fiberglass fabricator. He retired from L3 in 2004 and enjoyed spending time with his family on his property outside Greenville. Roberto was generous with his time and money and tried to help as many people as possible. He will be greatly missed by family and friends.
Roberto is survived by his son and his wife, Mike and Laura Lara of Houston; his son and his wife, Joe and Tammy Lara of Pflugerville; his daughter, Monica Atherton of Plano; his daughter Elena Pol of Plano; seven grandchildren, Joshua Lara, Christian Thornton, Brian Lara, Allison Atherton, Ana Lara, Henry Lara, and Jaxon Lara; two great-grandchildren, Atticus Thornton and Ella Thornton; two sisters, Delia Lara and Martha Vargas and one brother, Hector Lara. In addition to his parents, he was preceded in death by his wife Mary Lara, brother Pedro Lara, and son-in-law Mark Thornton.
Visitation will be held Monday August 15th 6:00 p.m. – 8:00 p.m. at Coker-Mathews Funeral Home, 5100 Interstate 30, Greenville, TX. Funeral mass will be held Tuesday, August 16th at 2:00 p.m. at St. Williams Catholic Church, 4300 Stuart Street, Greenville, TX. Burial will follow at Caddo Mills I.O.O.F. Cemetery in Caddo Mills, Texas.