John Varela

John Varela

1943 -2022

John passed away on November 23, 2022 at the age of 79 doing what he loved....Riding his Harley.

Raised in Guadalupe, CA. John was the eldest son of four children born to Ruben and Josephine Varela. At age 17 in his junior year, John joined the U.S. Navy Reserve. He completed 9 weeks of Naval boot camp before his senior year of high school. Upon graduation from Santa Maria High School, he attended monthly reserve drills until reporting for active duty in June of 1962. In 1965 at the age of 22 John completed his 5 year tour of duty with the Navy aboard the USS Providence as a Radioman. He had traveled the world and loved to share his adventures as a young man in the US Navy.

John returned to Guadalupe, reuniting with the love of his life Nellie Quintana. They met when John was on leave. They moved to Santa Maria to raise their two daughters. John & Nellie were always active participants in the girls school years. Whether it be fundraising for school projects or chaperoning on field trips. They enjoyed many family camping trips, and deep sea fishing.

John and Nellie traveled to many locations throughout California, Baja California, Arizona and Washington D.C. There were several trips on their Harley-Davidson to Las Vegas, Phoenix and Ensenada. John and Nellie were members of the S.M. Saddle-lites motorcycle club for 10 years. They loved to dance, and together could be seen on the dance floor most weekends.

John was employed by ITT Federal Electric where he held a variety of positions within the Western Range Division and Systems Division on VAFB. There were numerous missile launches that he was involved with. John was part of the Apollo Program. When asked which one he'd reply All of them! and proudly tell you that he helped put a man on the moon. You could often see John gazing up at the moon reminiscing of his days aboard the USS Providence and the accomplishments of being a part of aerospace. After 35 years of employment John retired at the young age of 58.

Retirement brought John the time to enjoy his family and the love of riding his motorcycle. You could often find John making his rounds at the American Legion Post 56, the Moose Lodge or the VFW 2521. He enjoyed his time with his fellow Veterans. He served as a past Post 56 Commander, Chaplin, bar manager and Color Guard. He held each of these honored position with pride.

His knowledge of history was amazing. He was an avid reader, enjoyed current events, politics and loved to talk or debate about any subject. Most of all he loved to see if he could ruffle your feathers!

The love that John had for his grandchildren and great grandchildren was unmeasurable. He shared his photos, video's and stories with everyone. He was very proud of the fact that he had No house rules. If they wanted ice cream for breakfast, well it was ice cream! Even his granddog liked to stay at Papa's house.

We are going to miss the daily Good Morning texts followed by the coffee break and steak n' eggs photos. Our nightly picture of the moon captioned "Hello Luna". Most of all we are going to miss you, JIV. Keep your Motor running in the heavens above.

John was preceded in death by his beloved wife Nellie Quintana Varela, parents Ruben Sr & Josephine, brother Ruben Varela Jr. Sister in-laws Frances Marstaz of Tulare, Rosario Alvarado of Tulare, Suzanna Quintana of Ohio. Brother in-laws Jose Jr and Carey Quintana of Guadalupe.

Survived by daughters Gracie Lathrop husband Jim of Paso Robles, Regina Robles husband Ronnie Grandchildren Justin, Alyssa and Ronnie Jr all of Los Banos. Granddaughter Serina Soltero husband Daniel and great grandchildren Mark, Elaina and Izabelle of Santa Maria. Sisters Kathy Varela and Margaret Chavez of Guadalupe. Sister in-laws Josephine Gallegos of Hermosa Beach, Luz Kubota husband Ted of San Clemente, Sofia Martinez husband Marcos of Ceres, Margarita Perry of Santa Maria, Angelina Quintana husband Mike of Bakersfield, Christina Morton husband Edwin of Paso Robles. Brother in-laws Luis Quintana wife Erica of Nipomo, Felipe Quintana wife Vickie of Carson City, Nevada and numerous nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be held at Dudley-Hoffman Mortuary Wednesday December 14, 2022 at 5:00 pm. Reciting of Rosary to begin at 6:00 pm. A Funeral Mass Friday December 16, 2022 at 9:30 am at St Mary of the Assumption Catholic Church followed by graveside service at Santa Maria Cemetery-South lawn. Celebration of Life at the VFW Post 2521 at Noon.

Visit www.dudleyhoffmanmortuary.com to leave a condolence for the family.