Henry "Hank" Thomas Castillo

Henry “Hank” Castillo passed away Thanksgiving Day November 24, 2022, at Good Samaritan Hospital at eighty-nine (89) years old. He was preceded in death by his beloved Lavern, his wife for 61 years, his brother David Castillo who recently passed, and sister Elizabeth who died as a child.

Henry was born to Henry (Enrique) and Barbara (Hortencia) Castillo June 28, 1933, on a Half Moon Bay ranch. Henry was raised in a cozy Sunnyvale home, that Enrique himself had built. He attended Fremont High School where he met the love of his life, Lavern Winegar. They married January 30, 1954, just prior to Henry’s entering the Air Force. He served as a Korean War airplane mechanic, stationed in Sacramento, where sons Steve and Jerry were born.

After receiving an associate degree in Aeronautics, Henry began working as a draftsman for Lockheed Missiles and Space Company. The young family moved back to Sunnyvale, just down the street from Nana and Papa. Their third son Mark was born in 1960, necessitating a move to a larger home in West San Jose. Lavern and Henry had always wished for a daughter and were blessed with Gina in 1964.

While at Lockheed, Henry became involved in the Gun Club, where Steve and Jerry took Hunter/Gun Safety classes. A work friend encouraged Henry and his three sons to come checkout the Motorcycle Club, beginning a family love for motorcycles. Henry embraced the excitement of the Motocross races. He frequently took the boys to the local races and quickly became part of the scene. He helped prepare the bikes before racing. He learned first aid to help injured riders, as well scoring the races, keeping track of laps completed to log rider-finishing positions.

As his family grew older and kids started moving out to create their own lives and families Henry remained involved and supportive, welcoming daughters in law Vicky, Mary Pat, and Barbara to the growing family.

He enjoyed traveling especially to England and Germany but would love the family vacations to Lake Tahoe. The 1980’s brought a great deal of joy to Henry’s life, as he became a grandpa to Travis and Rex. He loved the babies so much he was beyond thrilled as more grandkids arrived, Will, Ian and James. These would be some of the happiest days of his life.

Lavern and Henry were amazingly generous people, making sure their family had the latest and best toys and gear. At Christmas time they welcomed people into their home to enjoy homemade tamales, an old family tradition started by Hortencia and Enrique. When children of friends came, Lavern made sure every child had a gift to unwrap. After the children grew older, they provided envelopes of Christmas money – every kid’s “perfect” gift. Whether at home or in a favorite restaurant, birthdays were always celebrated.

After working thirty-nine (39) years for Lockheed, Henry retired having achieved the title “Design Engineer.” Early in his Lockheed career, Henry was tasked to check the accuracy of each drawing prepared by his draftsmen. He became exquisitely good at finding mistakes, a skill not always appreciated by his family. Henry was always quick with advice and lessons for anybody who would listen, he felt he wanted to share his knowledge to improve everyone’s life. He knew the right way to do things and wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, from the temperature of his soup, or the amount of ice to place in his glass. Over the years, the family came to understand that he was trying to help them learn his approach to life’s routines – as quirky as they were.

Following his retirement, he was a dedicated son to his mother taking her to many Doctor appointments and ensuring we continued the tradition of going to Flames for Sunday breakfast. He studiously helped Lavern with her multiple heath issues, and he took classes to keep abreast of the latest health care practices. In his spare time, he enjoyed Facebook keeping connected to family and friends. He really enjoyed writing new lyrics to his favorite songs and posting on Facebook, causing Facebook to question his use of copy righted material. He enjoyed writing and would often ask us to proofread his letters and songs. Henry was blessed with Laura Diaz, a loving caregiver who prepared meals, provided personal care, took him to his many MD/Lab/Imaging appointments and, most importantly, put up with his good-natured teasing and antics.

Looking back on his life, Henry had achieved the “American Dream” and was quietly proud to have helped his four children realize their own dreams and grow their families. With the addition of 3 new granddaughter in laws Monique, Mary and Laney, he was blessed with seven great-grandchildren: Carson, Kylie, Corin, Kellan, Collette Castillo and Margaux, and Wolfgang Benson. He loved each one, never happier than to be with his family. He also found much joy watching TV’s History Channel, Alaska Wilderness, and Survivor!

Early this November, the family made arrangements to take Henry to his favorite Flames Restaurant for Thanksgiving dinner. Unfortunately, Henry fell ill a week before and was sent to the Emergency Room. Despite superb medical/nursing care, his pulmonary/cardiac/renal/ neurology/infectious disease specialists were unable to reverse a downward course. His family kept a daily bedside vigil with him until his death late Thanksgiving Day.

Henry and Lavern did what every family hopes to do with their children, they raised caring successful responsible individuals. His values of caring, love and family live on in his children, grandchildren, and great-grandchildren.

The whole Castillo family will miss their Dad, Grandpa and Father-in-Law. As we share in the celebration of his life and look back on fond memories, we are extremely thankful he was our patriarch. He had a caring generous spirit that lives on with us.

A memorial service will be held Wednesday Dec. 14, at 10:30am at the Lima Family Santa Clara Mortuary, 466 N Winchester Blvd, Santa Clara, CA 95050

The burial service will be held Thursday, Dec. 15 at 10:15am at the Sacramento Valley National Cemetery at 5810 Midway Road, Dixon, CA 95620

The family asks that in lieu of flowers, to please make a donation to the charity of your choice.