Antonio Aparicio

Antonio was born August 2, 1971, in Panama City, Panama, to Lorenzo and Gladys Aparicio. He went to be with his Lord and Savior on March 8, 2025.
Antonio graduated high school early at the age of 16 in Panama City, Panama, where he grew up. He then left Panama with his brother Lorenzo and sister Lorena and headed to the United States where he attended English Language School because he did not know any English at all. He progressed quickly in the language and attended UCO where he graduated with a degree in accounting. He worked jobs in the food industry during summer. When he did not pass the CPA exams, he stayed in the food business and became a manager at KFC. During his time at UCO, Antonio met Angela Loyd at church. Angela began tutoring him and they started dating and were married in 1992. Nicole was born four years later in 1996; that same year, Antonio decided to start his own business in lawn care and pond building, which led to Decorative Water Gardens being established. He returned to KFC in the winter seasons until the business took off. In 1999, Angela was diagnosed with breast cancer. The Lord took her home in January 2000, leaving Antonio a single dad.
In 2001, a client asked Antonio to build her a pool, but he told her he didn't know how. When he built a new home for himself and Nicole, he experimented with building his own pool. The client found out and finally convinced Antonio to build her pool; Aquascape Pools was now in business.
Meanwhile, Antonio began dabbling in the dating arena. He tried a few times on his own, but realized he wasn't good at picking dates (his words). He let his friend Melody give it a try, and she introduced him to Holly, a friend she met while working in the mandatory Helping Hands childcare on Sunday mornings at Henderson Hills. Antonio and Holly went on their first date March 11, 2002, and were married on September 7, 2002. They blended a family with Nicole and Holly's daughter, Emily, both 6 years old. Kelsie completed the family when she was born in September 2003. Their love story started fast, and they have lived life big.
Aquascape grew far beyond Antonio's dreams. As it grew, Antonio invested love and time into everyone he met, never missing the opportunity to let them know that all his blessings were given by the Lord. Clients may have hired Antonio to build a pool, but many became personal friends by the pool's completion. Business colleagues, vendors and suppliers were not just work associates; they were Antonio's friends.
Antonio's biggest investment was his time with Holly and the girls. Every moment was important to him, from the big celebrations of graduations and weddings to the small moments of snuggles and eating cookies. He never let his family go a day without knowing how much he loved them- by telling them, sending them silly pictures and songs, and being goofy most of the time. Antonio, Holly, and the girls loved to travel and spent precious time together. Holly is blessed that they took all those opportunities now and didn't wait for retirement. Antonio was always ready for the next adventure, and we know that the adventure he is currently on in Heaven is bigger and better than he ever expected or imagined.
Antonio also invested his life and love into his community. The family attended church at Henderson Hills, where Antonio served as a deacon for many years. Antonio and Holly helped establish Project 66 Food & Resource Center, and Antonio volunteered at Ministries of Jesus as an intake translator and board member.
Antonio was a loyal friend, creating a lifelong impact on so many lives. He loved people and pointed them to Jesus. He loved sharing lunch, laughs, travel, Thunder basketball games, pickleball matches and water volleyball games in his backyard pool. He also loved sharing meals with friends, as long as it included a side of rice and didn't involve vegetables.
Antonio is survived by his wife, Holly; his three daughters Nicole Aparicio, Emily Jacob and her husband Adam, and Kelsie Aparicio; grandson Lucas Jacob; sister Mara De La Espriella, brother Lorenzo Aparicio, sister Lorena Kopack; nieces Gladisin, Kayla, Angie, Genesis, Madeline and Astrid; nephews Renault, Kristopher, Kevin and Lorensin; and many beloved grand nieces and nephews, cousins, and countless friends. He is preceded in death by his parents (Lorenzo and Gladys Aparicio), Angela Loyd Aparicio and brother-in-law Eric Kopack.
A come-and-go visitation and reception will be from 5-7pm on Thursday, March 13th at Crawford Family Funeral Service, Edmond. A service celebrating Antonio's life will be at 2pm on Friday, March 14th at Henderson Hills Baptist Church with burial following at Arcadia IOOF Cemetery in Arcadia. Memorial donations may be made in Antonio's name to Ministries of Jesus (https://moj.com/donate).