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Born: Lt Col Michael Joseph Yndo Sr. USAF Ret passed away on April 16, 2014 at the age of 92. He was born in Poth, TX March 4, 1922 to Michael F. Yndo and Ursula Rodriguez Yndo, the eldest of five children. He grew up on the Yndo Ranch, located along on the San Antonio River in Wilson County, in Floresville and in San Antonio, Texas. As a twelfth generation Texan, Michael was a proud and direct descendent of the Canary Islanders, of the founders of Floresville, Tx, of Don Manuel de Yndo, a former Captain in the Spanish army and teacher who was sent to San Antonio in 1812 to be the first schoolmaster for San Fernando de Bexar and who would ultimately educate several future Tejano signors of the Texas Declaration of Independence, and of Erastus Deaf Smith, spy for Sam Houston and hero of the Battle of Jacinto. He was predeceased by his wife of 37 years, Ann Patricia White Yndo, his baby sister Dora, his parents and his sister Corrine Yndo Lockamy. Individual: Michael was a child of the Depression and began working on the Yndo Ranch at the age of 9, capable, as his father often said, of doing the work of a full grown man as long as he was on horseback. He graduated from Central Catholic H.S. in 1939 and promptly enlisted in the U.S. Army Air Corp at the age of 17, completing his basic training at Brooks Field and attaining the rank of Sargent by the age of 18. While serving on Ascension Island in the Atlantic for the Lend Lease Program he was selected for OCS. He was commissioned as an officer in the Army Air Corp and served for the duration of WWII. Following service in the Alabama Air National Guard, he resumed active duty service in the USAF during the Korean Action and was awarded the Bronze Star for ground operations. Under Logistics Command, he participated in the transition to high performance jet aircraft. He continued to serve in Logistics during the early part of the Vietnam War, finally retiring after 27 years of military service in 1966 at Headquarters, USAF Logistics Command, Wright-Patterson AFB. Following his AD service, he continued to serve the USAF in Civil Service among the management at Kelly AFB in San Antonio. He retired after 20 years of service. His primary objectives throughout his service were aircraft safety and keeping them in the air during the challenges of the Cold War. Following the passing of his father in 1968, Michael returned to breeding cattle on his family ranch with the help of his two sons, fulfilling a lifelong dream that continued into his 80's. In 1982, his wife and mother of his four children died and he married Betty Gaddis in 1983. The marriage resulted in a combined family of 7 adult children making for an active family life which he very much enjoyed. He had always said that, at some point, he either wanted to live on the San Antonio River or in the King William Historic District, and with Betty he spent many of his later years doing both, in a condominium across from Blue Star. He and Betty were active participants in the neighborhood and the King William Association for almost 30 years, restoring several homes, volunteering in the King William Fair and the annual Basura Bash River Cleanup, and Michael overseeing the preservation work on a grand Cypress tree behind his home that had suffered damage over the years. They travelled extensively to S.E. Asia, Europe, Alaska and Canada. They spent Michael's final years and days on the grounds of Incarnate Word, once again on the banks of the San Antonio River, and again under the same roof as his two remaining siblings for the first time since he was 12. During his life, he was a devout Roman Catholic and an active parishioner of whichever parish in which he lived and, in the late 1960's, helped to retire the building debt of the parish of St. Gregory the Great. He has been a member of the Holy Name Society, the Knights of Columbus, the Sons of the Republic of Texas, and the Military Order of the World Wars. Michael was dedicate to God, country and family, and was admired as a man of honor and absolute integrity. He was extremely proud of his family, his country and his heritage. Survived by: his wife of 31 years, Betty Gaddis Yndo; his children: Catherine Yndo Vriend Jerry, Elizabeth Yndo Gaddis Paul, Michael J. Yndo, Jr. Yvette, Stephen W. Yndo, Paul Gaddis, David Gaddis Annalee, and Pam Gaddis; his grandchildren: Philip, Laura, Anjelica, Carmen, Monica, Marshall, Bailey, Rowan, Rami, Isabella, Alexandra and great grandchild, Hudson. He is also, survived by sisters, Sister Theresa Marie Yndo and Patty Ann Yndo Poteet James and numerous nieces and nephews.

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Michael Joseph Yndo

March 4, 1922 - April 16, 2014