Luis S. Delgado

Luis S. Delgado was a modest man, quiet and observant in his ways. He was trustworthy and traditional in his approach to his life and in his relationships. He was tough-minded with the kind of “stick to it” attitude that earned the respect of all who knew him. He was also a man who was meticulous, carefully disciplined, and orderly in virtually everything he undertook. Realistic about life, he was always at the ready, prepared to take on responsibility.

Luis was born on August 29, 1930 at home in Humacao, Puerto Rico. His parents were Manuel Delgado and Perfecta Santiago. Luis was raised in Humacao, Puerto Rico. He was brought up to be self-confident and dependable. These were traits that would serve him well throughout his life.

Growing up in the Delgado household was a bit different than most homes. There were good times to be had, but just as often there was a fair share of challenges as well. However, Luis was able to work through the usual family problems when they appeared, and he was the one person in the family who seemed able to keep the stress at bay. Luis was raised with ten siblings. He had six sisters, Maria, Amalia, Gloria, Carmen, Delia, and Millin, and four brothers, Juaquin, Gergorio, Guillermo, and Luis Angel. Luis was constantly involved in activities with his brothers and sisters. Luis and his siblings may have had the typical rivalries while growing up but Luis was always consistently loyal to his family.

As a young child, Luis was never someone who needed to be the center of attention. He wasn’t pushy and never forced his way into games or other activities. Luis developed a variety of interests, though, and the things he enjoyed doing he did well. He was always curious about the world around him and was often eager to explore it. In his spare time he liked raising horses when he was young, later his hobby was taking care of his sheep. However, what Luis enjoyed most was simply playing and spending time with his many friends.

Always considered to be a solid friend, Luis was fortunate to have numerous acquaintances and several very close friends during his life. Since he disliked making generalizations about people and preferred to draw his own conclusions based on direct observation, Luis was able to see beneath the surface of relationships and became a true friend to those who knew him. He was committed to his friends and valued the trust he placed in them. It was not uncommon for Luis to go beyond the call of duty for others, and friends frequently sought him out for advice because he had a knack for coming up with practical solutions to any type of dilemma. While growing up, his best friend was Luis Negron. Later in life, he became friends with Julio Gonzalez, Ruben Gonzalez, Crecensio Arroyo, and Ignacio Diaz.

On September 8, 1951 Luis exchanged wedding vows with Edna R. Negron at the at his grandparent's home in Las Piedras, Puerto Rico. Compassionate and devoted to Edna, Luis held endearing, traditional values about marriage and family life. He took the responsibility of marriage to heart, giving it his total commitment. He was a source of strength to Edna and using his gifts at nurturing one-on-one relationships, he worked hard to make his new family happy.

Luis brought the same traditional values in his marriage to bear on how he raised his children. He was a good parent to them, always firm yet fair in his dealings. He would always listen carefully and think things through before he acted, even when it was an adverse situation. Luis was also a walking schedule, always seeming to know what everyone in the family needed to do, where they needed to be and when they needed to be there. Luis was blessed with three children, two daughters, Lourdes and Ruth, and one son, Luis David. They were also blessed with eight grandchildren, Yvelle, Isacc, Luis, Noemi, Laura, Sammy, Geovann, and Kelsey.

Luis greatly enjoyed what he did for a living. He was skilled at working effectively in small groups and in one-on-one situations as well as handling solo assignments efficiently. Luis enjoyed dealing with concrete ideas and could penetrate any amount of fuzzy information to reach the essential facts. Always able to attend to the task at hand, Luis was excellent at meeting deadlines. He was an efficient worker, one who paid careful attention to detail, allowing sufficient time to complete one task before moving on to the next. His primary occupation was landscaping. He was self employed for twenty five years. Luis worked hard to be a team player, doing what was necessary in order to get the job done.

Luis liked to experience things first-hand as well as learn about them. This trait carried over into his hobbies, where he was very methodical in how he organized his activities and categorized things. Since he enjoyed his private time, Luis always tried to allocate a specific time for working on his hobbies. His favorite pursuit was watching boxing on TV. Luis was content to enjoy his hobbies alone but was also willing to share his interests with others.

Luis found pleasure in sports. Being a person who was comfortable making win/lose decisions throughout life, he could appreciate that athletes made those types of decisions in sports. He applauded those who won, and he enjoyed the statistical data and sports facts and could find himself wrapped up in those details. He would watch his favorite sporting events whenever he got the opportunity. Tops on his list was boxing.

Luis was a man who was dedicated and devoted to his faith. He was a member of Igelcia de Jesus Cristo, El Suen Samaritano, Guaynobo, Puerto Rico from 1992 to 2005. In 2005, he became a member of Igecias de Dios Penecostal in San Bernardino, California. He was a sympathetic man who valued his beliefs and was willing to work tirelessly for them.

Luis was a lover of animals and cherished his pets. One of Luis’s favorites was Blanco, a horse. They were best friends for 23 years. His family was rounded out by his Cockatil who Luis rescued in Puerto Rico and brought with him to his new home in Fontana, California.

When Luis’s retirement finally arrived in 1991, he was well prepared. He always trusted and placed value in what was logical and in the things he knew, so he was very confident in planning his retirement. He had begun the process early and had his retirement all laid out well in advance. His new life involved relocating to Puerto Rico. In retirement, he found new pleasure in raising goats and sheep. Even in retirement, Luis continued to stay in touch with his old friends while making plenty of new acquaintances. He was active in his new community and felt fulfilled.

Luis S. Delgado passed away on August 13, 2010 at Fontana, California of heart failure and other complications. He is survived by his wife, Edna, his children, Lourdes, Ruth, and Luis David, his grandchildren, Yvette, Isacc, Luis, Noemi, Laura, Sammy, Geovann, and Kelsey, and his great grandchildren Evan and Sophia. Services were held at Green Acres Mortuary Chapel. Luis was laid to rest in Green Acres Memorial Park in Bloomington, California.

Commitment is a key word that can be used to describe the life of Luis S. Delgado. He was committed to living the life of a good man who was both practical and trustworthy. He was committed to the traditional values that he upheld his entire life. He committed himself to being a hard worker who expected the same effort in return from those around him. Most of all, he was committed to those he knew and loved.