Santiago Contreras Jr.

Santiago Contreras, Jr. was born on October 8, 1937, in Mesquite, NM, the son of Santiago Sr. and Juliana Contreras. He grew up as the youngest sibling in a large, boisterous family with 5 sisters and 1 half-brother.

He lived in a small, close-knit community and had many friends who referred to him as "Junior", a nickname given to him by those who knew him the closest growing up. Junior was a varsity letterman in basketball, baseball and track and graduated from Gadsden, HS in New Mexico in 1957.

After some college and a few jobs he enlisted in the US Air Force in 1960. He had the good fortune to spend time in the Philippines, Spain, Colorado, Turkey, Greece and California during his tour of duty. While in Spain he met his lovely wife, Cecilia Razura, whose family was also stationed in Spain. They were married in 1964 and welcomed 2 sons during their first 2 ½ years of marriage. At some point while in the Air Force, he was tagged with another nickname, Jim, which stayed with him for the remainder of his life.

After being discharged from the Air Force, Jim and his family lived in El Paso, TX. After two years he accepted a job with the FAA and they moved to Maryland, just outside Washington, DC. Although it was an interesting place with many places to visit, the family was happy to be transferred to Washington State in 1973. Nine months later they welcomed their third son, and the family was complete.

They settled in Redmond, WA, a friendly, family-oriented town where they lived happily for 45 years.

Jim’s greatest love was his family. He was very proud of his 3 sons, and throughout the years was involved in many of their activities. Jim was a youth sports coach in soccer for the LWYSA and baseball in Redmond Little League and Redmond Baseball Association.

Eventually his sons went on with their lives and married, and Jim was happy to welcome 3 amazing daughters in law (Andi, Stephanie and Kait) into the family, followed by 3 wonderful grandsons.

In retirement, Jim & Cecilia enjoyed several years traveling in their motorhome. They had an active social life and many friends from the Federation of Eagles Travel Club (FOE in Redmond) and the VFW in Redmond. Jim was a proud member of the VFW Honor Guard, Post-2995.

He was loved for his silly sense of humor and enjoyed being with his friends. He loved golfing with his sons, celebrating big occasions like birthdays and holidays and making sure he was the life of the party. Unfortunately, Jim experienced many health problems, the most serious was dementia. By approximately 2018 it had progressed into Alzheimer’s disease, the effects of which ultimately contributed to his passing.

Jim is preceded in death by his father, Santiago Contreras, Sr. and mother, Juliana Castillo; his sisters, Rodolfa Herrera, Barney Contreras, Magdalena Barrera, Felicitas Contreras and Manuela Gonzales. He is survived by his wife, Cecilia Ann Contreras (Razura); his sons, Joey, Michael and Danny Contreras; daughter-in-laws, Kait, Stephanie and Andi; grandsons, Ryan, Cameron and Luke; and sister, Mary Zamora.

Funeral services are scheduled for 11:00am/PST on Friday, Feb. 17th, 2023 at St. Brendan's Catholic Church. Address: 10051 NE 195th St, Bothell, WA 98011.

In lieu of flowers, please consider making a donation to the Alzheimer's Association. (https://www.alz.org/)

"To give anything less than your best is to sacrifice the Gift" - Dan Contreras