Michael Sal Ernandes

Michael Sal Ernandes passed away the evening of January 27th at the age of 74. Michael died surrounded by those he loved most: his wife of 42 years, his siblings, his children, and his grandchildren. To die surrounded by family is a bit of a cliché, but his love for his family and their love for him made it an inevitability.
Born in Favignana in 1948, Michael immigrated with his parents and five siblings to the United States at 13. Soon finding himself in San Pedro, he would spend the rest of his life living in his beloved California. Working through a variety of Italian restaurants while attending school and learning English, he developed his love for food and for education. He built on the former, including working at Max's Steiner learning to tend bar with his brothers; as well as the latter, attending CSULB to earn a Bachelor's and Master's degree focused on psychometrics and statistics.
Given his commitment to his community, he joined the public sector, eventually serving Orange County and the city of Santa Ana for more than thirty five years as a leader in the personnel department. In August 1979, he met the love of his life, Rosanna, while returning to visit family in Favignana. After a long-distance romance by mail, Rosanna came to meet Michael; they fell deeply in love and were married on the fifth of April, 1981. After a few years their family grew, eventually leading to Michael's three sons: Peter, Vito, and Michael. When he wasn't spending time with his family, he was either tending to his prodigious garden, showing off his exceptional foosball acumen, or engaging with his sons' mutual passions for soccer - by coaching and building the local referee community.
After his well-earned retirement, he was unable to leave his community behind, continuing to referee and joining the grand jury of Orange County on multiple occasions. Even with this busy schedule, his wife and him made time for travel: returning to Favignana to visit old friends and family, to China to visit his son and grandchildren, and wherever else he could find a beautiful church and a delicious bite to eat. We were lucky to have him in our lives. Ci mancherà.
In lieu of flowers, the Ernandes family would like to recommend making donations to the St. Jude Children's Research Hospital.