Jose L. Montañez Sr.

He was born in Rio Piedras P.R. on February 12, 1949. His biological parents were Manuel Torres and Juana Machuca. He was adopted by Antonio Montanez and Sebastiana Alicea as a baby.

When his father passed away his mom moved to Arroyo, P.R., where he met his wife Carmen Figueroa. They were married December of 1965 and together had 3 sons: Jose L. Montanez Jr., Luis Alberto Montanez,

and Luis Antonio Montanez. He also had 7 grandchildren Luis Montanez ( who passed away on Oct. 29th 2014), Angela I Montanez-Bedoya, Jose Montanez, Jose Manuel Montanez, Noemi Montanez,

Victoria Montanez, and Andy Montanez.

Monty, as most of his closest friends and family called him, was a strong and hard worker who loved his salsa music, dancing, a good game of dominoes, and was the biggest dog lover. His favorite singers were Oscar de Leon and his "bajo"; in fact Monty even resembles Oscar in many features and would say they were brothers. He liked to read the newspaper, magazines, and his Bible. He was a free spirited man who lived his life to the fullest. His favorite thing we always heard him say was, "Pon a Dios Adelante"

which means "Put God First". He was in many difficult situations but during those situations he always said "I'm with God, he is taking care of me".

Heart-breaking circumstances took him away from our family and finally took away his life. But now he is in peace with the Lord in Heaven

Rest in peace, Monty.

He always used phrases such as, "porque tu eres la mujer de mi vida" referring to his wife and "porque yo soy Montanez!" During conversations with close friends he referred to them as "gato de yarda"; he was such a joker, a funny man he was. He was caring and friendly. Rest in Peace Monty We love you and will truly miss you.

The eagle on the card represents that adventurous spirit he always had and Psalms 23 was one of his favorites; "Jehova es mi Pastor".

Dedication to Monty:

We little knew that morning, God was to call your name. In life we loved you dearly, in death we'll do the same. It broke our hearts to lose you, You did not go alone.

For part of us went with you, The day God called you home. You left us beautiful memories, Your love is still our guide, and though we cannot see you, You are always at our side.

Our family chain is broken, and nothing seems the same, But as God calls us one by one The chain will link again.

Thoughts of....

What I remember about my dad is him always saying, "Con Dios Adelante" which means "With God Forward". My father made his mistakes and had his struggles but one thing that I will always remember and hold dear

to my heart is all the advise and encouragement that he would give me. My dad enjoyed reading; he would read magazines, the newspaper, but mostly he loved reading his Bible. He was

not only my father, but my helper and my friend. Dad, I am going to deeply miss you but I know that you are now walking with our Lord.

Jose L Montanez Jr (oldest son of Monty)

If there's one thing I know for sure about my grandfather, it's that he loved me. Throughout the duration of my life, my grandpa is the only man who has told me he loves me more times than I can come close to recalling. "La reina de me corazon" is who I was to him; he never let me forget it. He was the king of salsa in our home and my grandmother can testify to that. At home, my brother and I knew to watch our backs whenever we were watching t.v. because grandpa liked sneaking up from behind to get our noses in a crab-lock with his fingers..oh to feel that again. This is one man that knew what it meant to work hard with his hands; men today would have done well to learn from him in this area. The last day I saw him was in the early afternoon of August 26th, 2014; I remember so well embracing him good-bye with my son in one arm while my other arm was around grandpa's tiny waist. I remember so well his long-sleeve, green, top that was hot and muggy due to the outside heat and his sweat coming through from sweeping granite pieces off the floor and his chin hairs slightly touching my forehead all in that one, last embrace. Despite his obvious weakness, he shall always and forever be my beloved grandpa.

Angela Montanez-Bedoya (oldest grandchild)

I'm going to miss you grandpa. I wish we had more time to hang out and laugh. Even though we didn't see each other much I will still love and miss you so much. I will miss the advice on life that you always gave me.

Rest in peace grandpa. I love you

Victoria Montanez

2 Timothy 4:17- But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength.