Raul Bejarano Loya

Raul Bejarano Loya, beloved husband, father, educator and activist, died peacefully on April 1st, 2015, in the SF Bay Area. He began as a copper miner in Miami, AZ; was the first in his family to go to college; got his M.Ed. from NAU; and married his love, Servita, a student at NAU and waitress in her family's La Casita Cafe. Raul had planned to live on a can of tuna per day, that is, until he heard about the La Casita Special! Servita's grandmother, "Kima," offered students like Raul a feast for a dime. Without her, many wouldn't have graduated. Raul and Servita taught in Navajo and Apache reservations where they had their 1st daughter, Anamaria. In 1965, they moved to the Coachella Valley and became dedicated educators and pillars in the farmworker cause. Raul, Alfredo Fuller and Ray Rodriguez, started a newspaper, IDEAL, in a small house in Indio. The archives are kept at UC Berkeley. In 1969, Raul was falsely imprisoned for clapping in unison to drown out Rep. Tunney, who opposed the boycott of non-union grapes. Raul entered prison on June 12th 1969, two days after his 2nd daughter, Patricia, was born. Eventually, the Supreme Court of California overturned the sentence. Raul and co-defendants, T. Kay, J. Caswell and A. Figueroa, became known as "The California Four" and the "unity clap" became a hallmark of the Chicano movement. During all of this, the Loyas continued to teach and eventually had their third daughter, Katherine. The three girls brought them boundless joy and pride. The Loyas faced intense pressure to stop their political work, including death threats, "We know where your daughters wait for the bus." They stood up for what was right in the face of harsh intimidation. Their work is memorialized in many books, including Forty Acres by Mark Day. Raul served with MAPA; was part of the CV Federation of Teachers; and co-founded the Mexican American Scholarships. He was loved by his students and wanted to become a Principal. Routinely denied promotions and noting few Latinos in such roles, he hired Atty Louis Flores to sue the Desert Sands Unified School District. 12 years into the suit, Raul became a Dean and later a Principal, paving the way for Latino educators. As Principal, Raul moved Indio's continuation high school from trailers to its own campus and transformed it into an award-winning school, named Amistad. He got author Ray Bradbury to adopt Amistad; Raiders Coach Tom Flores to speak to students; and a donated printing press, which led to Inklings, an award-winning poetry booklet. Raul remained friends for life with the Figueroas, Fuller, Ray, Louis and dearly departed Mike Barta and Lalo Guererro. Raul's daughters became alumni at UC Irvine, UC Berkeley, Notre Dame, Boalt, Loma Linda, Stanford and Harvard. They describe him as a softy. He taught them to swim, bike, fly kites, fish and play poker. Once he was chased by a moose in Yellowstone and photographed each moment of sunrise at the Grand Canyon. He loved the redwoods, Muhammad Ali, his Kachina collection and Fiddler on the Roof. Raul is dearly missed by his wife Servita of 51 yrs; daughters Anamaria, Patricia and Katherine; "sons" Chris, Carlos and Shaun; grandchildren Christina, Aidan, Raul and Mateo; brothers Gene and Rudy Arellano and devoted niece Diane Perry and their families. You are in our hearts forever. Wake: April 10th, 5-7pm, Pacific Interment, 1094 Yerba Buena, Emeryville, CA. Mass: April 11th, 10am, Newman Hall, 2700 Dwight, Berkeley, CA. Memorial: April 11th, 12pm, Richmond Country Club, 1 Markovich, Richmond CA.

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