Dan Serna, the first Hispanic elected to the Arlington City Council, died Feb. 16 after a six-year battle with cancer and subsequent kidney failure.
Mr. Serna, 61, served as a councilmember from 1993 to 1997.
Former Arlington Mayor Richard Greene said Mr. Serna's tenure was during a time when the City faced challenges to keep the Texas Rangers and General Motors plant operating in the community. Voters approved a sales tax increase in 1991 to finance a new ballpark. When Mr. Serna joined the City Council two years later, he was named director of the Arlington Sports Facilities Development Corporation.
"He was the ideal member of the entity that would arrange financing for the project," Greene said. "The result of its careful management was to see the debt repaid in less than half the time originally scheduled."
Judy Rupay, who served on the City Council with Mr. Serna, said he was a tremendous asset to the community. "Dan Serna was such a great man," she said. "He truly had a public servant's heart. He will be missed."
Greene agreed. "Arlington is a better place because Dan came our way. His legacy of service will live forever as an exemplary role model for others to follow."
Mr. Serna, president and founder of Serna & Company, P.C. public accounting firm, earned a bachelor's degree in accounting from Texas Tech University in 1979. He began his career with KPMG Peat Marwick in Dallas before establishing his CPA practice in Arlington in 1987.
The long-time community volunteer served on many boards and commissions, including the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, Arlington Convention & Visitors Bureau, Arlington Sports Facilities Development Authority, Boys & Girls Clubs of Arlington, YMCA, Arlington Ethics Commission, Arlington Memorial Hospital, John Peter Smith Hospital, Tarrant County Crime Commission, Texas Public Finance Authority, Tarrant County Hospital District Board, 1995 White House Conference on Small Business and the Texas Tech University System Board of Regents.
A certified public accountant, Mr. Serna was a member of the American Institute of CPAs, Texas Society of CPAs and the Fort Worth chapter of the TSCPAs.
He is survived by his wife of 38 years, Susan; son, Daniel Serna, and wife Kasey; daughter Catherine Serna-Horn and husband Andy; and two grandsons, Lachlan and Ramsey Horn.
Visitation is scheduled 6 to 8 p.m. Friday, March 2, at Moore Funeral Home, 1219 N. Davis Dr. Services are scheduled at noon Saturday, March 3, at St. Vincent de Paul Catholic Church, 5819 W. Pleasant Ridge Rd. with burial to follow at Moore Memorial Gardens.
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