Alan Vera Obituary

Alan Dane Vera, husband, father, grandfather, Airborne U. S. Army Ranger & Viet Nam era veteran, passed away on Thursday, May 4th at the age of 75 in Austin, Texas. Born in El Paso, Texas to Rudolph B. Vera & Emma Lucille Knells Vera, Alan was the eldest of four sons and loved spending time outdoors in the surrounding mountains. An avid sports enthusiast throughout his childhood, he would go on to not only cheer on his children, but also coach them in soccer, karate, and track & field. He attended Blessed Sacrament Grade School and Jesuit High School in El Paso and Loyola University in New Orleans, LA, on a full Army ROTC Scholarship. Alan would graduate Magna Cum Laude with a Political & Military Science degree in 1970. From there, he would fulfill his service commitment as an Active Duty 2nd Lieutenant, completing Airborne training to earn Parachutist Badge and Ranger (Winter Cycle) Tab. His career spanned four years, with notable assignments as Company Commander, 3rd Infantry Division, Wurzburg, Germany, and 22 nighttime airborne drops behind enemy lines. He would leave the military in 1974 at the rank of Captain, with several accommodations, to include the National Service Defense Medal & Army Commendation Medal. Returning to El Paso, Alan accepted the Brand Manager position at Proctor & Gamble taking pride in his ad campaigns which brought new life to products such as Mr. Clean, Biz, and Coast. After years with several ad agency positions, in 1981 he ventured out on his own, creating the Quest Business Agency, a Houston-based Advertising & Marketing company, with himself as President and CEO. Inspired by his own drive & tenacity, his small business firm competed aggressively against larger, well-established corporations, winning many substantial advertising contracts with Texas Instruments, FedEx, and Exxon, among several notable clients. Throughout these years as a business owner, Alan was also a father & stepfather to 8 amazing children. Soccer tournaments took him from coast-to-coast (or sometimes, just all over Texas), karate competitions saw him packing multiple 6-foot trophies into the family van, and he was a fixture at various after school sporting events, still wearing his suit as he had come straight from the office. If Alan was proud of one thing, it was his children. As he wound down his career in advertising, Alan felt a new call to service. Bringing his impeccable attention to detail to the forefront once more, he sought to ensure Texas elections were fair, secure, and accountable to the letter of the law. First with True the Vote, and then as Chairman of the HCRP Ballot Security Committee, Alan spent countless hours training workers, monitoring elections, and offering testimony on election integrity at the Texas State Capital. A staple at the Texas Legislature, Alan was known to both sides of the political aisle as a well-informed, prepared, consummate professional. Alan also had a love and affinity for dogs. In recent years he and his wife, Colleen, opened their home to abandoned puppies from the Houston area, loving and training them so they could be placed in forever homes through Freedom Street Rescue. To his family, Alan was a Husband, Father & Grandpa. To those privileged to know him, he left his mark through a legacy of service, a loving spirit, and the courage to always do what is right. And, that mark will live on in all of their hearts for generations to come. Throughout his entire life, Alan always gave all the credit to Almighty God. Alan was preceded in death by his parents, and stepson, Michael Roos. He is survived by his wife, Colleen (Matetich); children, Lance, Paul, Jessica, Adam, Lauren, Lindsay, and Stefanie (Dexter Taylor); six beautiful grandchildren; brothers, Gary, Bobby, & Rick;In lieu of flowers, his family requests donations be made in his name to Freedom Street Rescue.