Benito Torres Medina

Benny had a very tough childhood, they were a poor family. As the oldest, he always took the responsibility seriously. At 11 yrs old he & his Father would gather firewood in the early hours. They rented five burros for a penny each to carry the firewood back to sell to the local vendors. He remembered it being very cold & dark, being tired & hungry but he did that every day until they started to work in the fields picking fruits & vegetables along with his brother Nick & twin sisters Rosamaria & Rosalina. One happy memory was His Mother, Otilia teaching him to play the guitar.

It was working in the fields that he met his future wife, Mary Medina. They married when he was 21 yrs old, they had 5 children, 3 boys & 2 girls. Robert, Gloria, Tina, Tony, Daniel. They gave their kids a wonderful happy childhood. Their home on Division St in National City was a home full of happy memories, of family gatherings, music, going camping, visiting Grandparents in Tijuana, so many happy times. Benny & Mary also made sure their children went to church & confession every week, and to cathecism to receive the sacraments, that was important to them & doing well in school, you had better not have a note from the teacher for misbehaving.

Benny so loved his family, he took being the oldest seriously, he was also a great uncle to his many nephews & neices, Tio Benny was loved by all of them. He would always visit & check on his Sisters. He would meet his brothers for Breakfast regularly. He also got involved with charity work with wife Myrna, they adopted an orphanage in Tecate. They would help the Nuns with food, supplies & transportation, they would gather gifts for the children, it brought him so much joy. He also did a lot of traveling with Myrna. He always told his family he loved them and was praying for them.

Benny loved music, he had a beautiful voice & would play his guitar anywhere, anytime and at every family get together. His talent led him to become the lead singer in several bands, they recorded several albums and they had a big following in San Diego. He loved singing so much that he began to write his own songs.

Benny, was a big man with a big heart. He was a people person, he loved his big family, loved family gatherings, he had a sense of humor, sometimes off color, but he loved telling his jokes & stories.

He was preceded in death by his parents, his sisters Margaret Avila & Rosamaria Reyes, his wives, Mary J. Medina and Myrna L. Medina.

He is survived by his children: Robert Medina, Gloria (Garnet) Hensley, Tina Medina, Tony (Celia) Medina, Daniel (Debbie) Medina, and daughter-in-law Lydia Medina. he had 11 grandchildren and 9 great-grandchildren.

He is also survived by his brothers Nick & Armando (Lety) Medina, his sister Rosalina Carranza, and many cousins, nephews & neices. He also leaves behind his companion, Teresa Rackcliff.

Benny Medina leaves a legacy of faith, love of family & music, and he will always be remembered with great love and will be greatly missed.