News

Sen. Apodaca's father, an El Paso businessman, dies at age 73

By Bill Moss, Published: April 30, 2013

The father of state Sen. Tom Apodaca died Sunday morning in El Paso, Texas, where he was a well-known bail bondsman and businessman.

Victor Apodaca, 73, died in his sleep Sunday morning, his son Victor Trae Apodaca III, told the El Paso Times. He was 73.
Apodaca had owned and operated Apodaca Bail Bonds for more than 50 years and was well-known in the El Paso community, the El Paso newspaper reported on its website.
"He just died peacefully in his sleep," Trae Apodaca said. "He woke up, moved to his chair and went with God."
Victor Apodaca had been battling various illnesses, but was not in critical condition, Trae Apodaca said.
His wife, Kirsten Apodaca, a former model and community activist who owned a high-end shoe store called Goody Two Shoes, died in August 2012 at age 69.
"We're pretty sure he missed my mom too much," Trae Apodaca told the newspaper. "His illness didn't help, but it was a broken heart that did him in."
Tom Apodaca started out as a banker in Hendersonville and then went into his father's career. He started a bail bonding and surety company in Hendersonville. A Republican, Apodaca was elected to the state Senate in 2002 in his first run for public office and vaulted to the top rungs of power when the Republican Party took control of the General Assembly in 2010. He has been Senate Rules chairman for the past two terms, a position that gives him the power to guide legislation.

The family has not set funeral arrangements. In addition to his sons Trae and Tom, Mr. Apodaca is survived by his daughter, Michelle "Missy" Apodaca, an attorney in El Paso.

El Paso Times obituary