Domingo Gutierrez

Domingo Gutierrez, 98, passed away on Sunday, July 28, 2019, surrounded by his family at his home in Avondale. He was the eldest of nine children born in Brady, TX on January 2, 1921. He parents, Juan and Teresa moved the family to Arizona at the beginning of the Great Depression, arriving first in Higley, AZ, and eventually settling in Waddell where the family worked as farmworkers for Boswell Farms.

Domingo enlisted in the US Army at the beginning of World War II and served in Japan. After the war, Domingo returned to Waddell, married, and continued working as a farmworker throughout the west valley (Waddell, Litchfield Park, Marionette – now known as Sun City and Sun City West, and Youngtown.) With Del Webb establishing Sun City, Domingo pursued another form of work and established his own mechanic shop/gas station in Avondale. In 1961 he moved his family to Avondale as well.

After a few years of struggling to keep up with the nation’s oil issues and self-service gas stations, Domingo went to work for the Litchfield Elementary School District until he retired in 1998. After retirement, being the hard-working person that he was, he continued seeking part-time opportunities until his hearing loss made it difficult to work.

Domingo found it important to keep up with current events and news and was an avid reader of The Arizona Republic (morning paper) and The Phoenix Gazette which was an evening edition of major news in Phoenix.

Domingo also enjoyed listening to baseball games on the radio as that’s what he was accustomed to before television. Even with his hearing loss, and with Closed Caption technology, he rarely missed a Diamondback’s game on TV.

Domingo is survived by his wife of almost 71 years, Mary Moya Gutierrez; four daughters and one son, Esther Carnero (John) of Tolleson, AZ, Lillian Kessel (David) of Cornville, AZ, Patricia Lorenz-Ray of Avondale, AZ, Debra Pamplin (Peter) of Atlanta, GA, and Domingo (Jay) Gutierrez (Joan) of Glendale, AZ; ten grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren. He is also survived by his sister, Mary Celeya, and many nieces and nephews. He was preceded in death by his oldest daughter, Josephine Bejarano; first grandson, Francisco Bejarano, Jr.; his parents; four brothers; and two sisters.

A visitation will be held at 10:00 am, with a rosary at 10:30 am, military honors and a funeral service at 11:00 am, Monday, August 5, 2019, at Thompson Funeral Chapel, 926 S. Litchfield Road, Goodyear, AZ 85338. Interment will be at the National Memorial Cemetery of Arizona.