Juan José González

Juan José González González passed away suddenly due to a debilitating battle with influenza, pneumonia, and pulmonary-related complications. He lived a very long life at 85 years of age. A caring, dedicated, skilled and exemplary man, having journeyed to California in 1975 Juan having landed in the greater San Jose area. At his arrival he started working as a chef at various restaurants, including Wine Cellar Restaurant in Los Gatos and formerly Bella Mia Italian in downtown San Jose. In addition to 30 years in the culinary industry. He had a deep appreciation for the slower pace of life and came from a family of entrepreneurs, well studied in the musical arts, bread-making, and chair-making; hand made out of pine and straw. He knew how to work with cattle, ride horses, and had quite the green thumb. Cultivating guava and arrayan trees, as well as onions and camotes, there was never a plant he was not able to keep alive.

A huge fanatic of ranchera and norteño music, Juan's beloved artists included Las Jilguerillas, Las Hermanas Huerta, and Los Alegres de Terán. His favorite foods included beef tamales, peruvian beans, oatmeal with fresh cow's milk, nopales (mexican cactus), bananas, gelatina (mexican gelatin) and arroz con leche (mexican ride pudding).

Juan was born in the small farmworking town of Mixtlán, Jalisco, México. His parents were Isidro González Fregoso and Faustina González Preciado. In lieu of much schooling, his family raised him to be very hardworking. Spending a significant time in the woods gathering fresh lumber for his mother's wooden stove to produce freshly baked goods including birote and pan dulce. In the early mornings, he would accompany his father to tend cattle and cultivate milpa, also known as "las tres hermanas" (an ancient indigenous farming technique sowing maize, beans, and squash together). Shortly after marrying his wife, María Guadalupe Martínez González, he slowly started to gather wood, adobe, and other materials to hand build his family's home. He spent 3 years in Guadalajara to save more money working at an appliance factory producing parts for refrigerators, freezers, dishwashers, and even cooktops.

During the 1970s he decided to journey to the United States in search of more opportunity to provide for his family of six. After landing in California, he started working as a harvester picking produce at Harbor Bay in Alameda, CA. However, he shifted into chef work later on and spent the majority of his career serving Italian cuisine.

He served as a prime example to all of his siblings, children and loved ones of hard work and dedication. Juan is survived by his five children Adalberto González Martínez, Maria Del Carmen González Martínez, Noemi González Martínez, Lorenzo González Martínez, José Juan González Martínez, 12 grandchildren, and 9 great grandchildren.

Please join the family of Juan José González González on Saturday, February 28th at Greer Family Mortuary to lend support and celebrate his life.