Jose Jimenez

Jose A. "Tony" Jimenez died of natural causes on July 3, 2009. He was preceded in death by his parents, Abelino and Trinidad (Pinon) Jimenez. He was born June 13, 1930, in El Monte (Hicks Camp) and lived there until the age of 5, when his family moved to Zacatecas, Mexico, during the Great Depression. He suffered extreme poverty as a child and often went to bed hungry. As a child in Zacatecas, Tony was required to work and help provide for his family. Many times his work required that he be away from the family for days at a time. His family always hoped for a better life. At the age of 15, Tony made the long journey back to El Monte by himself. He had always dreamed of a better life, although he never forgot about his family and continued to send money and help provide for them. When he was able to provide the means for his family to move, he relocated them to Mexicali, B.C., where they remained until he was able to legally immigrate his siblings.

He worked many odd jobs as a young man, but was most proud of the time he worked as a migrant farm worker. During this time he worked throughout California, Arizona and Colorado.

In the spring of 1960, while visiting his parents, Tony met his beautiful wife, Maria Eduvijes Barcenas. They married on Sept. 10, 1960, and resided in Mexicali for their first year of marriage. The first of seven children was born in Mexicali. He did not like the extreme heat, so once again he relocated to the Los Angeles area. In 1963 he purchased his first home in El Monte. After many years of migrant work he procured employment in a factory making paint. In 1974 he opened Tony's Tire Shop on Peck Road in El Monte, which he owned and operated for the next 10 years. During this time he never took a day off.

After 10 years of hard work he planned his retirement. He leased his business and relocated to the High Desert, but retirement was short lived. He began to purchase and refurbish homes as a hobby until the day that he died.

He had many passions in his life such as restoring classic cars, horses and he never passed on the opportunity to travel to one of the casinos from Las Vegas to Imperial County.

He is survived by his wife, Maria, of 48 years; brothers Bartolo, Jesus and Jose Luis; sisters Maria, Consuelo, Epiphania and Maria Isabel; seven children, Tony Jimenez, Elsa Rodriguez (Alex), Lupe Carney (Randy), Martina Rivera (Ernie), Angelina Cervantes (Mel), Manuela Berdin and Daniel Jimenez (Felisa); 20 grandchildren, 11 great-grandchildren and numerous nieces and nephews.

Tony will always be remembered for his love of God, family and friends. He was an extremely generous man and spent many years volunteering at the Holy Family Catholic Church. In the early years, he was involved in several ministries, as an altar server and held prayer groups at his home. He assisted as an altar server for the last time on July 1, 2009.

Tony is greatly missed by many.