Andrew "Snow" Soto Jr.

Snow Soto, Cowboy, Rancher, Fisherman, Husband, Brother, Father, Grandfather and 6th generation Native Californian died Thursday, June 30, 2011, at Bayside Care Center in Morro Bay. He was 86 years young! Snow, or "Junior" as his close relatives called him, lived life to the fullest and enjoyed each day as it came. He was born in San Luis Obispo in June 1925. His folks lived on the Soto Ranch, at the head waters of Santa Rosa Creek in Cambria. His grandfather, Cipriano, bought the ranch with his brother-in-law in 1910. In 1925, Snow''s dad and uncle, Andrew Sr. and Ernest Soto, bought out Cipriano''s brother-in-law. While Snow was in grammar school it snowed one time at the ranch. He was so excited, the next day at school he told all his classmates about the snow storm - that''s how his nickname started! At age 12, Snow lost his mother, Violet Ingles Soto, to heart disease. He moved in with his aunt and uncle, Elsie and Ernest Soto, who lived next door on the Summers Ranch, which was leased by the Sotos for many years. Snow grew up on a working cattle ranch with his first cousin, Vernon Soto. They learned to rope and ride together along with all the other farm chores. They would ride their horses over the hill to the neighbors, when no one was home, and rope their cattle for practice - that is until they got caught! One of Snow''s good friends was also a neighbor, Billy Hartzell. They loved to dig tunnels in the hillsides. They even had rails with an ore car! Snow loved to tell everyone about the first time he saw an airplane fly. He knew about them, but hadn''t seen one in the air before. It flew over the ranch - WOW airplanes really do FLY! While growing up, Snow fell in love with Old English Game Fowl and began raising them at an early age. He continued to do so for the rest of his life. He knew everything there was to know about a chicken! In Game Fowl circles he was know as one of the best breeders around. Snow worked hard and played hard. He and friend, Carl Negranti, ran around together a good part of their lives and there wasn''t much they didn''t try to do, at least once! During this time of his life, Snow met and married his first wife, Bonnie Whitlock, of Cambria. They both left high school early and made their first home on the Taylor Ranch on Green Valley Road. They shared the home with Vernon and Althea Soto, who already lived there. Snow and Bonnie''s first child, Steven, was born there in 1949. Elmundo Barlogio leased the ranch and Snow, along with Vernon, worked on the ranch milking cows and farming. He loved listening to the Brooklyn Dodgers on the radio in the milking barn! Later, Snow worked for Tony Williams and lived next door to him on Main St. A few years later, Snow and Vernon were able to buy a 500-acre ranch along the coast north of Cayucos. Snow and his family lived on the ranch, which is where his two daughters, Sally and Sherry, were born. During this time of Snow''s life, he worked off the ranch at different jobs, including hauling garbage from the Cambria Radar Base. After a few years, Snow and Bonnie divorced and the ranch was sold. He always loved the ocean, so he bought two deep sea fishing boats, the Lucky Day and Waho. Snow set up shop in San Simeon Bay just north of the then shorter pier. Because the boats couldn''t dock at the short pier, they used amphibious "ducks" to load and off load passengers. Slim Cunja ran the ducks, Jack Brown was the skipper and Snow was the deck hand! What a crew! Usually, everyone came back with a barley sack full of fish! During the off time, when the season was open, the abalone boats would off load their catch into the ducks which took them to shore. The abs were so plentiful in those days that the good boats limited themselves to only 100 doz. per day! There was a size limit and there were no sea otters back then. It''s interesting to know that Snow lived in a trailer house next to the lagoon on the beach next to the pier. Boy, how things have changed! An early October storm came in and sank the Lucky Day and washed the Waho to shore. That ended the fishing venture! Awhile later, Snow leased a cattle ranch in Huasna, outside of Arroyo Grande. He stocked the ranch with cattle and tried to make a go of it. Low cattle prices the following year put him out of business. Off and on during these years he worked for the Labors Union on many projects. He also built many cattle fences in San Luis and Santa Barbara Counties. This is when he married his second wife, Madge. They were together many years until her death from cancer. Before and after Madge''s death, Snow worked for Rancho Sisquoc, east of Santa Maria. He cowboyed, built fences and made many friends. He knew most every rancher in San Luis and Northern Santa Barbara Counties. In his later years, he loved to tell about taking care of Mrs. Folger, the coffee heiress, when she stayed at Rancho Sisquoc. He worked at the ranch until he retired. In retirement, he met and married his present wife, Marlene. They moved back to the old Soto Ranch in Cambria, but visited Marlene''s family in Santa Maria often. Snow will be remembered as a man who lived a colorful life and enjoyed the company of others. His favorite places to eat were The Far Western Tavern and Jocko''s. Snow leaves behind his wife, Marlene Soto; son, Steven Soto (Patty); daughters Sally Knowles and Sherry Law; sister, Carol Lowry; brother, Jim Soto; six grandchildren Violet, Phalen (Jalene), Calle, Stephanie, Mario (Katie) and Chance; and six great-grandchildren. A Mass will be celebrated at 11 a.m. Saturday, July 16, 2011, at the Santa Rosa Catholic Church in Cambria. A Celebration of Life will follow at the Parish Hall with a western style barbecue. The Soto Family encourage all friends and family to attend and bring along your "Snow" stories. Donations, in Snow''s name, may be made to The Old Santa Rosa Chapel in Cambria or the American Cancer Society.