Angel Fred Sanchez Sr.

For the Celebration of the life of Angel Fred Sanchez, A. K. A POPS. Today we feel ache from losing a loving, funny and downright cool cat and our hearts are very heavy. However, tonight we do not gather to say goodbye- for death is but a transition from one form of life to another. POPS is part of that greater experience. So today we celebrate POP’s life and what he has meant to so many. Tonight we pay tribute to an awesome man and the lessons that we learned from him and the love he shared with us- especially his grandkids. Pops will live in our hearts because we will honor his life by sharing love for the future generations.

He was born into a family that did their best to love and guide him. But the path was not always easy for him. As humans, sometimes we have a tendency to focus on what is missing, but it is more important to look at what is good. Through his life, POPS learned it of himself and taught us about the potential that lies within each us.

When Angel was a boy he was a bit of a “wild child” running the streets. Still love, respect, and guidance crossed his path just when he needed it most. One day, Angel looked across the classroom and saw the prettiest red headed girl- (we know her as Susie, Mom, Sister, Ma Susie, or Tia Susie), and Angel realized he just had to have the girl. The infatuation with her grew and I'm sure he fantasized about a future life with her. He had plenty of time to daydream and wish for her, since she ignored him because she didn't want to get in trouble with her parents. He eventually wore her down and they would be wed at the age of 17. Susie would go on to give him the strength to see the possibilities that he hadn't yet experienced. Together they paved a path of hope and love, no matter how rocky it may have been at times. This path would lead to a love that weathered and endured over 50 years and produced remarkable children and even more amazing grandchildren.

Looking back on Angel’s life, we can see how the love of God presented itself when GARY came into his life. I think Ang’s comment best describes GARY’s influence on POPS and the entire family: “He (Gary) was an angel sent to look after my dad. Gary once worked with both my grandmothers at different jobs. That is how he came to know mom and dad. In those days, dad ran free without much supervision. Gary took it upon himself to offer some support, and honestly, he cared for him as a father figure. Dad said GARY was his best friend and was he was always there for him and his family.” Gary opened up the world for POPS. He showed him places like New York, California, Colorado, and many other destinations. He introduced him to fine foods, and really kept him out of serious trouble. He was dad’s best man at their wedding, and he was a grandfather and great grandfather to all of us. In my opinion, Gary changed the trajectory of Angel’s life completely. Many of you may have never existed if Gary wasn’t put in Dad’s path. So, in order for us to properly celebrate POPS tonight, I must slow down and take a moment to say thank you to GARY. Thank you, GARY for loving all of us. We are better because you were a part of our family.

It is said- kids will not always listen to what you have to say, but they will always watch what you do. And in that way, POP taught us through his actions. He taught us things like:

IF YOU TRUST AND LOVE GOD, YOU ARE NEVER ALONE: Now, the truth is, POP was not an especially religious man, but he did believe in God; When I look out at all of you, I believe I know exactly where Angel’s church was- Sunday dinners, Super Bowl parties, Thanksgiving gatherings, Christmas Eve with the entire family, and countless events where we all came together. I believe this is where ANGEL saw God’s goodness. I Imagine each time he said a prayer of gratitude that the “wild child” that was running the streets did well given God’s love and protection.

HE ALSO TAUGHT US TO BE SMART ENOUGH TO EMBRACE EACH OTHER’S LOVE AND GUIDANCE AND LEARN FROM THEM. Let me elaborate- Susie and Gary’s love just to name two key people, changed POPS by offering him kindness, love and respect. They believed in him. And he was smart enough not to reject this gift from God. Through the kindness and love of Susie, Gary, and others his heart was truly softened. POPS learned to love wholly. The love can be seen and felt all around us.

DAD ALSO TAUGHT US INDEPENDENT THINKING. Now here’s the thing, everyone needs to take full responsibility for their life path and their actions. If you knew Angel, then you know Angel is a “I’m gonna do it my way” kind of guy. Oh, you better believe, he definitely did things his way. We can applaud that gift and we can also learn from it. Our lesson is that independence in the form of doing it your own way can be a good way, but there should be some limits. He taught us to be aware that our choices can have huge impacts on others.

HE TAUGHT US NOT TO PUT LIFE OFF. Grab life, dance, eat well, go to the wedding, make the drive, go to the family party. But also recognize that lifetime is an accumulation of small moments over time. Building a mountain of precious moments include taking pictures, spending time together, and remembering those things. Build your family legacy. Don’t be too busy, don’t put life off and when you experience failure, and you will- POPS would say get your ass back up! Dig deep. Do it again. Work hard. Be resilient.

FINALLY, ANGEL TAUGHT US RESPECT. This is especially important for the grandkids and young people to pay close attention to. He told us to do a good day’s work. Earn your money the honest way. Stand behind your commitments. Honor your family. We also learn the hard way we must recognize when we make a mistake and don’t be too proud to make amends. The bottom line is, when something isn’t right- Make it right. Repair it. If it’s broken, then fix it.

When Angel’s children were asked who their dad’s hero was they were surprised by their collective answer: ANGEL’S heroes were his children and grandchildren. He was extremely proud of all of his children’s and grandchildren’s achievements and successes. POPS was proud of the parents that they became. He was especially proud to be a Marine grandfather, and loved the fact that Mia and John Paul were musically inclined as they played instruments. There are too many grandchildren to mention, but he loved attending all of the graduations of his grandchildren and looked forward to all the rest to come.

POPS loved music and some of his favorite artists included BB King, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Led Zeppelin and ZZ TOP. If you ever had a chance to enjoy some of this music with him in the garage, you might have also found yourself very, very relaxed. And that’s just how it was when you hung out with POPS. He loved action movies that included some of his favorite actors like Sylvester Stalone, Clint Eastwood and Bruce Willis. DAD even enjoyed a good rom-com from time to time. He absolutely loved to dance! His children remember all the weddings and the Quincenerias, mom and dad would cut a rug. He even taught Angela how to dance Tejano, but she was always just a little too self-conscious, because mom and dad were so good at it. Even after health issues and Dad’s loss limbs, DAD still managed to find joy in dancing from his wheelchair. It truly made him happy.

His children agree Dad taught them all about respect. Make no mistake, when you walked into the Sanchez household, you knew who the man of the house was. The kids all learned hard work from mom and dad. They worked long and hard hours to provide for their family. They taught their children right from wrong and how to know the difference. They taught their children to love unconditionally.

If POP was still here, the boys would say to him, “Let’s go on a ride, Dad. Let’s go fishing, or let’s catch a movie. Let’s go get Chinese. We love you.” If DAD was still here, Angela would say,” I love you. Dad. Thank you for always being authentically yourself for good or bad. Thank you for loving me no matter what. And most of all, I will miss you tremendously. I promise I will take care of mom until she’s ready to join you. Find peace in knowing we’re all OK and we’ll continue to make you proud.”

What the family will miss the most is his creative way to fix stuff. The random phone calls that ended up with one of them picking them up to go out to eat. Dad loved to go out to eat and somehow those phone calls always ended with them at a restaurant. We’ll also miss seeing the pure joy on his face when he was around his family. They will miss seeing Dad get all dressed up for big family functions. Dad always looked very sharp. They’ll also miss seeing him dance whether on legs or in his wheelchair. Most of all. They will miss his laughter. Dad laughed with all the gusto in the world! He would sometimes laugh so hard he’d start choking and coughing. His laughter was infectious.

Angel walked this earth for more than 24,000 days, and those who knew and loved him were blessed because of it. He gave some of you life, and he gave all of us examples of living life to the fullest, and we also learned what paths to avoid. Throughout his time, he was a child of God, perfectly imperfect, but fully loved by his Savior. For those of us in the Christian faith who believe in the resurrection, also believe that we are never alone on our path or at the moment we transition. His body had grown wary; His spirit was tired; And the time had arrived. I believe, at the time of DAD’s transition he was surrounded by angels and escorted to his own homecoming.

Mattew 25:23: His lord said to him, “Well done, good faithful servant: you have been faithful over a few things, I will make you ruler over many things. Enter the joy of the Lord.”

It makes sense that POPS’ favorite song is STAIRWAY TO HEAVEN. Many people have different interpretations of lyrics. The one I like is the message that there are two paths to heaven-

1.) One path you can try to buy your way in- but no amount of money, no good works, can make it easier to get into heaven.

2.) The other path while more uncertain, requires guidance to find happiness. It is not an easy journey- this thing called life (I NEED ALL THE YOUNG PEOPLE TO HEAR THIS) Life is hard, but there will be guidance. There will be writing on the wall, to guide you.

Make no mistake, there will be seasons of confusion, but spring always arrives- and it is never too late to take the better path. Through the way Pops lived his life we have learned to take the right path and do the work. Because one thing is for sure- Angel did just that. He took his path and he did it his way.