Herman Louis Castaneda

Herman was born on October 23, 1936 in Colorado Springs, CO to Felipa Perez-Castaneda and George Castaneda. He had 4 brothers (Theodore “Chief”, Paul “Patch”, Guy “Midnight” and Ted Castaneda) and 2 sisters (Catherine Pavlakos and Lupe Soto), all of who have been called home except for Ted Castaneda.

Herman was a great family man, a loving father and grandfather. He married Josi (Sanchez) Castaneda and they had 8 children together; Julian Castaneda, Rochelle Bingham (Paul), Paulette Feil (Bill), Bernadette Robinson (John), Angela Raedel (Michael), Matthew Castaneda, Jarrod Castaneda (Beth), Michael Mary Castaneda. In addition Herman has 17 grandchildren, 14 great grandchildren and 1 great-great granddaughter.

Herman grew up in Colorado Springs; he was raised in the downtown area of the Springs. Some of his fondest memories were the days he spent at The Boys Club, South Junior High School and Colorado Springs High School where he played football, basketball and was a part of the 1953 state wrestling team.

He coached wrestling for several years at the parochial level and was the wrestling coach at St. Mary’s High School in the 70’s.

Herman was an amazing fast pitch softball player. He pitched in the local mens league from the age of 14 to 65 years old. Many national teams sought after his pitching skills. He was recognized locally for throwing a perfect game.

He retired from Hewlett Packard after 25 years and went on to work for several more years.

His hobbies also included building and racing street rods. He was one of the original-founding members of the Toreadors Car Club. His passion for cars and racing won him several awards over the years. He was a funny, happy and giving man who many were drawn to. He loved his family with a passion and always made everyone feel special.