Frank L. Arroyo

What an honor to have been loved by so many of you, family, relatives and friends. Thank you for sharing your time with us on such an important day. We’re grateful to all who could be with us today. We celebrate the memory of Frank L. Arroyo, who was also known as Dad, Chief, Papa, Pancho and Big Cloud.

Frank was born in Yolo, California on April 10th, 1930 and was a brother to three sisters: Ignacia Ybarra, Petra Almaraz and Lydia Martinez. During Frank’s early childhood, his mother, Victoria Arroyo, briefly moved her children to Mexico. A short time later they returned to the United States. During this time in Frank’s life, English was his second language. While he was in elementary school in Lake Elsinore, CA. he had the mental ability to figure out math problems quicker than anyone else in the class. His teacher was astounded at the method he used to verify the answer was correct and asked him to show her the method, as well as questioned him where he learned it. Frank studied up until the eighth grade.

Frank was proud that he patriotically served in the United States Army during the Korean War, between 1951 and 1953, receiving an honorable discharge.

At an international church convention held in Tijuana, Mexico it was "love at first sight.” That’s where Frank met Gloria and fell in love. July 4, 1954 he married Gloria Valdez in Sanger, CA. Frank and Gloria moved to Corona to start their life together.

Frank attended San Bernardino Valley College and received his Associate of Arts Degree in 1956. He worked for Rohr Aircraft as a tool machinist. He was a devoted Christian husband who supported his family of seven.

Frank and Gloria raised five children: Rachel, Lillian, Frank, Michael and Richard. Frank was so proud of his children who he saw as treasures. Every year he would traditionally present his wife a bouquet of flowers on each of his children’s birthdays with an attached love note saying how happy he was for their birth.

He believed and said, “What a sad world without kids.” Frank enjoyed the cute and funny things that his grandchildren and great grandchildren said and did. He loved to teach them about math, how to solve math problems and how to read and write in English and Spanish. He also enjoyed teaching others outside of the family who only knew Spanish how to read English. He was very helpful, kind, patient and generous to many.

After discovering that his father, whom he had not seen for many years, was living in Algodones, Mexico, he went to see him. At that time he was told that he had more brothers and sisters whom he was happy to come to know and love. They are: Elva, Esperanza, Ruth, Juana, Yolanda, Ana Maria, Simon, Pedro Ignacio, Andres, Antonia and Luis.

Frank made his career as a life insurance agent at United Insurance Company of America and retired after 33 years. During those years he was also an investor. As he was an outstanding agent, he would frequently win sales promotions. He won many travel vacations. One year he qualified for 13 chances to win a car. The drawing was held in Hawaii. He was notified that with his 13th ticket he had won the car! At first, he thought they were playing a joke on him, but they assured him he really did win. He got to choose what kind of car he wanted. He let his wife make that choice and she chose the blue Mustang Grande over the Mach1.

He was a handyman who could fix almost everything or attempt to come up with a resolution to fix things by any means. It was not unusual to look for ways to recycle city water was being wasted. He took advantage of re-purposing this water for his lawn.

Traveling was an exciting time for the family. It all started from camping in a tent until they upgraded to an eight person sophisticated tent trailer, which was being hauled behind the faithful family station wagon. The camping trips could have been locally to mountains in Idyllwild or further to Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. Adventure always followed. At Park City, Utah, Frank tried to ski with his children, but decided he’d better get off the skis before he hurt himself. He loved to laugh often.

Distance wasn’t an issue when it came to places Frank was interested in seeing. In April of 1978, Frank, Gloria and Rachel went on a guided tour led by Bro. Phillip Rangel to the Holy Land, Jordan and Greece. On another trip, Frank was determined to be able to climb along The Great Wall of China, so he set out to exercise before his trip. Later in life he traveled with his two sisters, Ignacia and Lydia including their spouses on cruises.

His daughter, Rachel, would ask him if he was ready to travel again, to which he would excitedly say, “Oh yes, my suitcase is packed!” By this time he was actively traveling a month at a time to other foreign places with his wife, Rachel and son-in-law Ron. They traveled to see New England and Eastern Canada. Two years ago they all ventured to Argentina. They crossed into Brazil and boarded a speed boat that went directly under the huge waterfalls in Iguazu Falls. Although they were all soaked, they laughed all the way back. From there, they cruised to the Falkland Islands where they were driven in a jeep to stand among the king penguins. There was nothing more breathtaking to Frank than when he was cruising in the solitude of Antarctica in the pristine waters among the icebergs. He never in a million years thought he could travel to the furthest southern tip of the world with his family. Last year they went the opposite direction starting in Europe, visiting Norway, Iceland and cruising into the Arctic Circle. Frank will still be cruising and traveling with them in their hearts and thoughts.

Frank was a godly man who put God first in his life. He loved to read his Bible, talking often to anyone who was willing to enter into a Biblical discussion. He enjoyed having weekly Bible classes on Monday nights with his nephew, Victor Ybarra, who would come to the house to discuss and share the word of God.

For years Frank was an avid walker. He enjoyed walking five miles around the neighborhood with their two small dogs in the morning. He found tranquility in his garden, eagerly looking after his plants and learning how to care for them. He was so happy when many of them began to produce fruit. Sometimes, after working in the garden, he would come inside the house and then quickly go back outside to check on a plant's progress. His daughter, Lillian, would visit to help him with his plants by making suggestions and showing him how best to care for the plants. Some of his biggest accomplishments were the huge avocado tree on the front lawn and the lemon tree in the front courtyard.

Frank loved Gloria with all his heart. Within the past few months of his life, his wife “Lovie” (as he affectionately called her) noticed and asked him why he was making gourmet breakfasts for her. He said it was due to his appreciation for all she has done for him. They recently celebrated 60 years of love and marriage on July 4, 2014. Traditionally, they had a family barbecue and watched the fireworks later that night from their house.

He was very happy at his 85th birthday party. He said he felt like he was on Cloud Nine because of all the family and guests that came to see him. He said he was happy to hear from us while he was alive, instead of when he was deceased. The following week he was still talking about his amazing party.

If any one was ever an optimist, it was Frank. He always looked at the positive side of life, never wanting to dwell on whatever went wrong. He taught his children the value of hard work so that they would be wise in their lives, jobs, and actions. Instead of dividing love between all of his children, he multiplied it and gave us back the freedom to multiply love ourselves. He made a tremendous impact on so many people and demonstrated his respectful character throughout his life. Those of us who were fortunate to have known him have truly been blessed by his love and will deeply miss him and his great big bear hugs with an ‘ugh’ for emphasis. Frank loved God, his family, relatives and his friends. Surely, he will be in our hearts and minds, as the day of the Lord approaches and we will be reunited with him because of the saving grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let us find comfort in God’s word from Psalms 31: 23-24

Oh, love the Lord, all you His saints!

For the Lord preserves the faithful,

And fully repays the proud person.

Be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart,

All you who hope in the Lord.

A celebration of Frank’s life:

May 12th, 2015

10:00 a.m.

Pierce Bros Crestlawn

11500 Arlington Av

Riverside CA 92505