Enrique Irizarry-Toro

Enrique Irizarry, 86 passed away Wednesday, May 3, 2017.

Enrique (Hank) Irizarry was born on August 20, 1930 in Sabana Grande, a small town on the western side of the island of Puerto Rico. He grew up in a modest wooden house surrounded by mango trees, chicken coops and the love of his family and friends. As a young man, he loved to play baseball and continued to play the sport competitively well into his later years in various intramural activities with his troops and colleagues alike.

From humble beginnings, he rose to the rank of Colonel in the United States Regular Army where he proudly served with distinction and honor for over 30 years.

Upon graduating from the University of Puerto Rico, Hank was commissioned and entered active service as a Second Lieutenant, stationed at Fort Buchanan near San Juan. It was here he met the love of his life, Rosa Hilda Lopez. Hank and Rosa were married in April 1956 in a very unconventional way. Hank, due to his assignment to Germany, was absent from his own wedding married Rosa Hilda by proxy.

In the years that followed, Hank and Rosa had six (6) children, Tony, Enrique, Jr. (Rick), George, Hilda Rosa, Robert (Bob), and John.

As Platoon Leader, Hank fought in the Korean War in 1951. He was deployed to the Dominican Republic in 1965 under President Lyndon B. Johnson to restore order after political chaos gripped the island nation. In 1969, under President Richard M. Nixon, Hank fought in the Vietnam War as Company Commander, and a member of the Army’s elite Special Forces Group and the 101st Airborne Division (“Screaming Eagles”).

After his retirement from the Army, Hank worked for NASA at Edwards Air Force Base, in California’s Mojave Desert. In 1983 Hank and Rosa Hilda made a new home in nearby Lancaster, California and in 2005, after almost 22 years, Hank retired from NASA. He spent the rest of his life with his wife, Rosa Hilda traveling the country, visiting their extensive family, and thoroughly enjoying their “golden years”.

After a lifetime of moving to assignments all over the country such as Fort Hood, Texas, Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Fort Ord, California, Fort Campbell, Kentucky, Fort Sheridan, Illinois, and sometimes overseas to places such as Rio de Janeiro, Brazil and the Panama Canal Zone, Lancaster, California was to become the place where Hank and Rosa Hilda lived together the longest. In the fall of 2010, Hank and Rosa Hilda moved to Keller, Texas to be closer to his sons and their families.

Hank was loved by all who knew him and will be sorely missed. His family is extremely proud of him and so very fortunate to have been a part of his remarkable life. They know he is in a better place and is totally at peace. A peace and tranquility he so richly deserves.

Hank is survived by his wife Rosa Hilda, all of their six (6) children, 13 grandchildren, eight (8) great-grandchildren and one more great-grandchild expected this coming summer.