Arturo Fontanilla

1948 - 2020

Arturo Fontanilla

Art Baluyot Fontanilla, 72, passed away peacefully in his home on August 14, 2020, after a courageous battle with cancer.

Art is survived by his wife, Annie, of over 40 years, and his three daughters Ariane, Elyse, and Jenna.

Art was born on July 12, 1948, in Manila, Philippines to Teodula and Juan Fontanilla. He is the 5th child of 6 children, sibling to Benjamin (late Carmelita), Beatriz (Franklin), Romulo, Ernesto, and Carlo (Tisha), and uncle to many nieces and nephews.

As a teenager, he came to the US and when he turned 20, he was drafted into the military. He served almost 3 years in the US Army and went overseas to Vietnam where he earned recognition for being a sharpshooter, and medals for good conduct and national defense service. He took pride in serving the US and in following his father's footsteps, who survived the Bataan Death March and 3 months as a POW.

After he served in the US Army, he landed his first corporate job at Bechtel Engineering Company where he met his wife, Annie. In 1979 he left Bechtel and got a job at PG&E. Later that same year Art and Annie got married and would go on to raise a family.

Along with spending quality time with his wife and kids, Art spent a lot of time with his cars. He's most known for driving around his 1977 yellow Formula Firebird with his famous license plate that read AFLOAT which stands for "Art Fontanilla Lives On at Another Time".