Obituary of Raymond Vasquez

On February 27th, 2022 our beloved father (and grandfather) Raymond “Ray” Vasquez, quietly left this world to finally be reunited with the love of his life Jessie Vasquez. He was surrounded by family as he peacefully transitioned to that next inexplicable plane. If our mother was our true North, then Dad was undoubtedly our “Rock” and center of gravity. He had a very strong work ethic to be admired, and can best be described as stalwart, honest, sincere, and kind, with a great sense of humor to boot. If our father gave you his word, it was to be trusted, it was his bond. These are all attributes that apply to the stellar human being our father was. However, what really comes to mind is that Dad was a devoted husband, father, and family man. He was unwavering in his love and dedication to his family. He never gave up, always moving forward and upward. From a very young age our father’s very strong and broad shoulders borne the weight of many a responsibility. He never complained about the hard work and to be sure there was never any shortage of that. Our father had a tremendous ability to handle adversity with resolve, courage and always with his chin up. However, the stoic conduct, our father was very kind hearted and sincere in his love for his family. His one vulnerability and never-ending strength came from the immense pride, deep devotion and love for his family. Dad was firm but fair and always loving. The timbre of his voice could be both soothing and commanding when necessary, and will be most definitely missed. He loved all of his children very much and was proud of all of their accomplishments. He loved us according to our unique individual personalities. He had an unassuming way of listening intently to any problem or triumph that we wished to share. Before there was the term “Girl Dad” our father was just that. True, he had boys as well as girls, but he always said that we as girls/women could do anything we set our mind to. He encouraged his girls regardless of social constraints or perceived norms. Our father was an avid reader and quite the history enthusiast. He had an uncanny ability to give exact dates for historical events. He very much enjoyed reading about world history and was particularly fond of California history and the WWII era. While in the hospital some of the nurses there had taken to calling him the “history professor” as he would impart little nuggets of historical facts. In his later years, his eye sight took a turn, and he would then watch hours of the History Channel. Many times, he would point out inaccuracies, and we were not surprised to learn that, in fact Dad was right. Dad was amiable and well-liked by others, always easy with a smile, and quick to share a conversation and laugh. Dad excelled at growing beautiful gardens. Even after a long and physically taxing day, he loved to decompress and shake off the work day by tending to his gardens. He had prized chrysanthemums and quite the magnificent succulent/cactus garden as well as a beautiful rose garden. He was quite fond of irises as well; he could grow anything. In fact, his vegetable gardens were prolific; producing every kind of tomato, pepper, cucumbers, squash, corn, and pumpkins for Halloween. Dad also very much enjoyed a good western movie. He loved to talk about what was going on historically at the time frame the movie was set in. It was a real gift to be able to share those conversations with Dad. Dad had a great love for music and came from a very musical family; he instilled that love for music in his children. Dad was a Hollister Haybaler and he played in the high school marching band, and also played football. He was very proud of the fact that his family had a maestro come to the family home to give music lessons in their music parlor. He loved to share the stories of when he was a little boy visiting his grandfather, and the maestro would play classical pieces in their music room. But in particular he recalled an instance when the maestro played a very difficult piece called Zacatecas (not normally meant for the harp) and it made quite an impression upon him. While in the hospital there was a harpist that would come by to play for the patients, and when that occurred, Dad would regale us with those stories and memories from his youth. Our father will be sorely missed and remembered with love. Dad was a life long resident of Hollister and San Benito County. He was operations manager for Dryden’s Sugar Plum Farm for 40+ years and Foreman at San Benito Foods for 35 years. He is survived by his children: Mary (Rick Edge), Tina (Ed Spilo), Terri (Buzzy Picha), Raul Vasquez, Mona Vasquez, Bob Vasquez, Neva Vazquez. Grandchildren: Jessica Vasquez, David Vasquez Jr., Rick Edge Jr., Adrian Edge, Carly Rae Picha, Nellie Picha, Angela Spilo, Melanie Spilo, 13 great grandchildren and 3 great, great grandchildren. He is preceded in death by his wife Jessie Vasquez, and his children David Vasquez, Anita Magorian and Julie Borges, as well as his granddaughter Deanna Vasquez Per the wishes of the family, mask is required to attend services. (The family requests that in lieu of flowers donations be sent to the Diabetes Foundation)