Eleazar "Ray" Romero went to be with the Lord on July, 27 and left to cherish his memory his wife of 58 years, Mary Lou who he called by many names: Marcie, May, Lou, darlin’. Those nicknames were such an important part of who he was and how he individualized each of his kids. He is also survived by his son John – Big John; Daughter Fran – Francis Pansis; Daughter Linda – Cree Chick; Son Damian - Boom; Daughter Rae Ann – Boo Boo You Us
He is survived by his sons-in-law and daughters-in-law, his grandchildren and great grandchildren, his brothers, sister, nephews, nieces, cousins, and a countless number of friends who are certain to be familiar with his greeting, “HEY CHIVO!”
Sometimes in life we’re faced with the question, "Who in your life influenced you the most?"
For our family the answer is - Grandpa Ray. He taught us many fundamental lessons that have helped all of his children make decisions throughout their lives: Always do what’s right, always have fun, and no matter what – always do your best. That’s it. They’re simple lessons really, but he made sure to reinforce them to his children and grandchildren during nearly every interaction. He’d ALWAYS tell us how much he loved us, how much we meant to him, and how proud he was of us for doing the right thing and for doing our very best in everything we do. When he’d speak of his kids and grandkids you’d see a brightness and sparkle in his eyes.
My Dad had an incredible work ethic. He retired from the Colorado State hospital after working 32 years as a cook. Throughout his career he took a few vacation days a couple times a year and used that time working just as hard to care for his home; cleaning the storm windows, the base boards, painting the fence, and let’s face it, painting EVERYTHING including electrical outlets, light switches, door knobs, and even the cement slab in the back porch.
He retired with nearly all of his sick time and he was never late for work.
Well, there was a day where he came close to being late. My Mom always kept his kitchen whites laundered and one morning gave him a set from the drier that just wasn’t quite dry. If you ask my Mom she’ll insist they were just damp, but this morning was one of the very rare times that Grandpa showed some irritation. He couldn’t be late so he sauntered off to work yelling about his uniform was SOAKED! SOAKIN WET! And what did my Mom do? Yelled after him, Bye SOAKIE! That’s how their LOVE worked – this story about Soakie the bear happened so many years ago, but it’s banter like this that always illustrated how strong their bond is.
My dad lived his life with a very specific cadence. I bet he established parts of it during his time in the Air Force. He’d wake early and start the day by doing his workout – calisthenics and exercises with his iron dumb bell; or back when he was a young father he’d do push-ups with one of the kids on his back. He’d shower and dress in just his levi’s while he’d shave, comb his hair with his little black comb, brush his teeth with a paste of baking soda and water, and shine his shoes; or his cowboy boots if there was a special occasion. He’d end his ritual by making sure he had his certs and his black label chap stick in his pocket.
Many of you know my Dad as an athlete and I bet most of you have seen him on the ball field pitching underhand fastpitch softball. He passed his athleticism on to his children and grand kids and he loved watching them play. We have vivid memories of him showing up to the field – even the practice field – after a hard day’s work to watch us practice. He loved watching games from behind home plate, but in recent years his favorite thing to do was listen to games at Bessemer park from his front porch. After each game he’d tell you how proud he was – win or lose – even if you ran for a total of negative yards – or had all of your pitches taken to the fence you’d know you did your best for him.
Throughout Grandpa Ray’s entire life he fostered his love for cooking and always brought his family together nearly every weekend to help with his catering business. He was a businessman, but it was his generosity that often put us in a pinch. He just couldn’t say no so we’d end up with three or sometimes even four parties to cater in a day PLUS we had to keep the restaurant running He’d say, “Don’t worry – we serve at different times.” As if! We knew we’d be up early and would be shuffling equipment all over town. At the end of the day we’d all be exhausted, but it was always so worth it. We’d have so much fun from the start of the weekend picking up the supplies with him on Friday to helping him prepare the sage dressing which he had such a knack for getting just perfect – we think his secret is that he’d mix it gently with his hand while his big turquoise ring clanked against the stainless steel. We’d help him make beautiful relish trays and he’d always put his special touch on them – radishes cut like roses. It was amazing to see his big, callused hands completing such a dainty task when he could use those same hands to pull sopapillas directly out the hot grease when he couldn’t find the tongs. Johnny – the strongest-looking one would always jump at the chance to whip the enormous pot of mashed potatoes. Johnny would use both arms and break a sweat while Grandpa, the truly strongest, would show his patience until he’d finally take the whip and finish them off with a single arm – after all this was the last step before it was time to serve and it had to get done quick. Speaking of time serve – that’s when the franticness of the day would set in and Grandpa would start barking orders to get us to the finish line, “get that cosa and bring it here! Now put that cosa over there and take the other cosa out there.” Miraculously we all knew which cosas he meant and no matter what, he’d get us through it, the food would be delicious and we’d always have enough; he’d even save a small pan of green chili to make a special delivery to the neighbor down the alley at the end of the night.
My Dad worked hard and you could see the proof in his strong hands. But remember he taught us to have fun in life. He loved bowling, horseshoes, family barbecues in Beulah, celebrating birthdays with hot dogs or a pizza from Sam and Ray’s plus a cake from Shuster’s. He’d tell us scary stories, he’d make up games for us to play, and he’d send us to Dairy Deluxe because he always said “ice cream is good for you”! It’s these memories that will keep his spirit alive in all of us forever. Love you Grandpa Ray!
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