Frank Serrano

Frank Morales Serrano - a Husband, Father, Brother, Uncle, educator and friend too many. He left this world and has been reunited with two of his siblings, his mother and father and is in the presence of the Lord. He loved the Lord and had a strong hope and faith in God.

He was the oldest son of Isidra Serrano and Francisco Serrano. His Siblings are as follows: Ortencia Garza, Armida Sosa, Sergio (Chene) Serrano, Peter Serrano and Henry Serrano.

Frank grew up during the depression in East Los Angeles. and came from a very poor family; therefore, at a young age he started working, such as in the fields picking fruit or refurbishing items to sell to help support his family and put food on the table.

Frank grew up to be a young man with strong family ties, drive and determination. He was a “hands on” kind of a guy that learned multiple trades and was always willing to learn new ones. On December 15, 1944 at the age of 17, he enlisted in the Navy and became a seaman 1st Class. He sailed the seas on the USS PC 597, Asiatic Pacific Fleet, during WWII. He & his shipmates went on covert and overt missions and worked in conjunction with the air force to conduct search and rescue. He learned many valuable lessons in the military and continued to talk about them throughout his life. He left the military on July 17, 1954.

After the Military, he enrolled in college and graduated from San Jose State University w a bachelors degree in Education. Later on in life he went on to acquire a Masters Degree in Administration. He Worked as a teacher for 14 years, he was a principal and administrator for 19 years, an Educational Consultant, the chairman of the Hispanic Coalition of Montebello scholarship Committee, and a member of the following: 1), Montebello gang diversion program; 2) the At Risk Committee - MUSD; and 3) a member of the Bell Gardens & Montebello high school expansion programs. He also served on the board of Education in Montebello for eight years.

While my dad was a teacher he went on a blind date and met my Mom, Yvonne Serrano. It was love at first site! They dated and were soon married and had two children, Paul Serrano and Elaine Serrano. They were happily married for 63 years.

My dad could do just about anything! He was a “Jack of all trades”. During summer months when he was not teaching he was building. He put up half of all of the brick walls in our city. He knew how to do masonry work. He also did HVAC. The best memories for me were during summer months when we saw him every day! He would make life fun. My brother and I went into business with him when I was five and my brother was nine. My Dad made multi-purpose chalk/peg/magnetic boards, which were triangular in shape. We would sell them to teachers that taught during the summer months. we were also allowed to keep one for ourselves.

We went on multiple road trips together as a family. My dad loved “ the Great Outdoors”. We went to places like the Grand Canyon, Lake Cachuma, Idyllwild, Big Sur, Nevada, Anza, etc.. I loved working with him in the garden. He loved roses and knew how to prune them. Back in the day, our backyard was filled with beautiful roses. He landscaped our backyard and did the masonry work to create a long sitting area. He made our backyard beautiful with carefully selected plants.

My dad would flourish at family gatherings. He loved his nieces and nephews and enjoyed interacting with them. He loved joking with his brothers and teasing his sisters. He enjoyed music and singing, even though he couldn’t “carry a tune” very well but non-the-less, he would get us all singing together like he was a conductor. Christmas time was one of his favorite times of the year. He loved Christmas carols. My mom would play the piano and he would jump in with his vocals.

He loved His Mother and would do everything that he could to help her until the time that she passed away.

During the last year of his life at 95 years old, he was still mobile and always wanted to go on family outings. He would tell us jokes and make my mom and I laugh. His long term memory was much better than his short term memory during this time; therefore, I heard multiple stories about his childhood and the military. We would march together to navy cadence in the hallway. As a young Man, he was a trained boxer; therefore, in his golden years, he would do his punching combination exercises while sitting down as my mom and I helped him get ready for the day.

Frank Morales Serrano blessed us all with his advise, guidance, sense of humor, love of life, love for his fellowman, strong family ties, and a “go getter” spirit! He would always encourage people to go to school or finish off their degrees. He loved school and he loved helping people.

His passing was very unexpected for all of us. We feel the loss and he will be greatly missed. He will forever be in our hearts. Until we meet again, Dad. “love you to the moon and back!”. Forever and Always ❤️💕

Frank is survived by his wife, Yvonne Serrano, daughter, Elaine Serrano, son, Paul Serrano, Sister, Ortencia Garza, Brother Sergio Serrano and his brother, Peter Serrano and many nephews and nieces.