Jose Francisco Lara

1939 - 2006

Jose Francisco Lara passed on to be with the Lord on Jan. 24, 2006, after gallantly fighting a lingering illness. Mr. Lara was born on April 8, 1939, in Ixtlan, Michoacan, Mexico.

Mr. Lara was a well-rounded person who enjoyed camping and fishing, and his beloved Chivas futbol club. Mr. Lara will be remembered also for being the one half of the first couple on the dance floor with his soul mate, Senora Tere. Mr. Lara was always quick with a smile for anyone he would encounter — friends, family, or complete strangers.

He loved going to Las Vegas and the Chumash casinos in addition to playing cards with his family and compadres, in the living room of his home. With his son, Panchito, Mr. Lara attended the last Rams home football game played at Anaheim Stadium. Mr. Lara always rooted for the Dodgers, in good times and bad. Above and beyond everything else, Mr. Lara loved his immediate and extended family, which reached from the city of Sacramento in the north to the rural plains of Mexico in the south. Mr. Lara epitomized the word "gentleman." He will never be forgotten and he will be sorely missed by all who had the good fortune to be in his presence.

Mr. Jose Francisco Lara is survived by his bride of 36 years, Maria Teresa; his daughter, Maria Moody (husband Walter and his daughter, Ana Bernice); son, Francisco Javier Lara; grandson, Anthony Valdez; mother, Maria Del Carmen; sisters, Graciela Lovato (husband John), and Maria Del Carmen Miranda (husband Hugo Sr.); and nephews and nieces, Johnny, Tony, Maria, Hugo Jr., and Eugenio. Mr. Lara also is survived by a host of other family members and friends.

Funeral services will be held at 7 p.m. Friday, Feb. 3, at Pierce Bros. Griffin Mortuary, Camarillo. Mass will be celebrated at 10 a.m. Saturday, Feb. 4, at St. Mary Magdalen Chapel in Camarillo.

Assisting the family with funeral arrangements is Pierce Bros. Griffin Mortuary, 1075 E. Daily Drive, Camarillo, phone 1-805-482-2711.