Daniel Miller Padilla
Tue, 2015-02-03 10:44
News Staff
Daniel Miller Padilla, 54, of Rockdale passed away Monday afternoon, January 19, 2015, at his home near Rockdale. He and his wife Andrea have lived in Rockdale the past five years and had lived 26 years previously in Copperas Cove. He attended church at First Baptist Church in Milano. A memorial service for Daniel will take place at 11:00 a.m. on Saturday, February 7 at the First Baptist Church in Milano. Visitation will be at the church from 10 to 11. Daniel was born in Seattle, Washington, on December 16, 1960, to Daniel Madrid and Joyce Elaine (Miller) Padilla. He attended
high school in Idaho and Washington. After high school graduation he attended Idaho State University. Daniel was interested in the medical field, and at the age of 17 he began working as a
volunteer on an ambulance crew in American Falls, Idaho. Later he was certified in Washington and Idaho as an EMT/Paramedic. Daniel worked on the Shoshone- Bannock Fort Hall Indian
Reservation in Idaho as a medic and Reservation Police Officer, as part of the Department of the Interior. Daniel served in the U.S. Army as a medic during Operation Just Cause in Panama
and Desert Storm andwas known to all his fellow soldiers as Doc. He was medically retired when injured during Desert Storm. After leaving the U.S. Army he worked as general manager at KayBee Toy Store until 2002 when medical disability caused his retirement. It was his joy not only to save lives on the battlefield and at accident scenes but also to welcome life into the world. He delivered five babies as a paramedic. He was allowed to assist the doctor and nurse at the birth of granddaughter Alacia. In addition, he was an artist in watercolors and also painted miniature war
gaming figures. Most of these highly-detailed human figures were only 25 millimeters tall. One of his paintbrushes had only two hairs. On June 5, 1992, he and Andrea Kay Henderson were married in Kempner, Texas, in a friend’s back yard by a local Justice of the Peace, and later held their church wedding on July 4, 1992, celebrating with family and friends. They enjoyed celebrating two wedding aniversaries every year. Surviving Daniel is his wife, Andrea Padilla of Rockdale; his father, Daniel Madrid Padilla of Scottsdale, Arizona; his mother, Joyce Elaine Long of Roseburg,
Oregon; his daughter and son, Christa Michelle Word of Austin and Joshua Shane Word of Fort Worth; four grandchildren: Felecitee Word and Alacia Word of Austin, and Reagan Word and Audrey Word of Rosebud, Texas; and two nephews, Joshua Curran and Jeremiah Hanney of Cleveland, Texas; and numerous great nieces.