Age 83, Lawton - Services will be 1:30 PM Wednesday in the Becker Funeral Home Memorial Chapel with Rev. David Jones, Pastor, New Light United Methodist Church, officiating. Mr. Velez Del Castillo died Sunday in a local hospital. Burial with full military honors will be in the Highland Cemetery. The family will receive friends from 6:00 - 8:00 PM Tuesday at the funeral home. He was born on December 6, 1925 in Isabela, Puerto Rico to Ramon Velez Maldonado and Josefa Del Castillo Cordero. He served in the US Army for 25 years until his retirement on April 30, 1976. He served in the Vietnam and Korean Wars. He received numerous awards including the National Defense Service Medal with 1st Oak Leaf Cluster, Republic of Vietnam Campaign Medal with 60 Device, Bronze Star Medal (2nd Award), Good Conduct Medal (4th Award), ten overseas service bars, Distinguished Service Medal, Combat Infantryman Badge, Vietnam Service Medal and the United Nations Service Medal. He attended the University of Puerto Rico and received his Bachelor's Degree in political science. After his retirement, he was the longtime Project Manager of Food Service at Fort Sill. He graduated from Cameron University with a Bachelor's of Business Administration. He was a member of the New Light United Methodist Church and the Disabled American Veterans. Survivors include a brother and sister-in-law, Samuel Velez Del Castillo and Julia Ray of Fort Walton Beach, Florida; two nieces, Julie A. Kellum and her daughter, Cailin E. Kellum, of Fort Walton Beach, Florida, and Brunilda Velez Ocasio of Puerto Rico; two nephews, Raymond Banks and his wife, Carmen M., of Puerto Rico, and William Banks and his wife, Kathleen, of Bradenton, Florida; and special friends, Chun Cha Littlefield and David and Jeanie Jones, all of Lawton. His parents, two brothers, Miguel and Ramon, and two sisters, Emma C. Banks and Zenaida Velez Del Castillo, preceded him in death.