Jesse is survived by his former wife, Sally; children: Daniel, Rosemarie, David (Carol), Robert and Christina; 8 grandchildren: Michael, Renee, Sarah, Janette, Camille, Karina, Nikolaj and Jacob; 8 great-grandchildren: Crystal, Michael, Jr., Alana, Salvador, Jr., Zachery, Zayne, Lilliana and her soon to come sister; brother: Gilbert, Sr., sisters: Ofelia (Carrillo) and Adeline (Contreras); former brother-in-law: Juan Garcia; several cousins and countless Espinoza and Garcia nieces and nephews.
Jesse was born in Madrone, CA to Juan and Maria Espinoza. He grew up in Madrone, just north of Morgan Hill and Santa Clara. He wanted to join the Marines when WWII in the Pacific began but his father refused to allow it because he was too young. As soon as he was 19, he joined the Marines in April 1943. Qualified as an anti-aircraft machine gun crewman and truck driver, he served his time at the Marshall Islands in the Pacific where he helped protect the Seabees during runway construction. He was honorably discharged at the rank of corporal on December 19, 1945.
Jesse soon applied for a construction job as a carpenter in 1948 with Hayman Homes; builders of office buildings, apartments buildings and track homes. When asked, why he wanted to be a carpenter, he replied, “Because I love the smell of wood.” He continued that love affair for more than 40 years offering his skills to family, friends and neighbors.
Jesse met and married Sally Garcia in May 1948 and lived in San Francisco until 1957 when they moved to Sunnyvale with their family of 3 children to the house that he had built during his time off. In 1961, his family had grown to a total of 5 kids (3 boys and 2 girls). During this time, it was custom for Jesse to wake the kids up EARLY on Saturday mornings with the sound of big band music in the dining room and Reveille at their bedroom doors in order to get them up to do their chores. Around the mid-sixties, Jesse had the neighborhood kids help him dig out a basement. He was not satisfied with that because in 1992, he raised the house, strengthened the foundation then added a second level. Jesse had now built a 6br/3ba home with a basement.
After his divorce, Jesse’s friends and kids convinced him to go on vacation with a coworker to Europe. He soon was on his own traveling all over Europe and enjoyed every minute. That was his first real vacation he ever took.
He later retired after 40 years with Hayman Homes. He never let that slow him down. He bought property and was bored so he built a house in the Sierras, in the town of Murphys, Calaveras County. He later built another house and sold it in Forest Meadows because he was bored.
Jesse survived a major heart attack in the late sixties. When he had difficulty finding his way back home from familiar locations, he was tested and diagnosed with Alzheimer’s in November 2014. It wasn’t until December 2015 that he began attending the Alzheimer’s Activity Center in San Jose starting with 3 days then later increasing to 6 days a week.
After being in and out of the hospital early February 2018, it was advised he should go home to be with family. Jesse passed away peacefully with all his children at his side allowing him to continue on to his next journey.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to fight Alzheimer’s at Alzheimer’s Association; www.alz.org in memory of Jesse Espinoza, 8/21/24 – 2/15/18 of 1120 London Ave, Sunnyvale CA 94087. Donations may also be made to Alzheimer’s Activity Center where he enjoyed spending his time. Donations are accepted online at www.alzactivitycenter.org or by check to Alzheimer’s Activity Center to 2380 Enborg Lane, San Jose, CA 95128. Please indicate “in memory of Jesse Espinoza” in the memo section of the check. Rest in Peace, Dad. Thank you for everything.
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