Arturo R. Vargas

     Arturo Vargas died at age of 98 years old and was the toughest man we knew and loved. He was born on June 22, 1923, in San Antonio, Texas, and died peacefully at his home in Murrieta surrounded by family on January 23, 2022. He left behind a large multigenerational family who loved him deeply. He was a family man and knew about the lives of everyone he left behind. He will be missed tremendously by all who knew him, called him Grandpo, or shared a beer with him. He was a man with many memories of his long life and loved to share them with anyone who would listen to them. Please allow me to share some of his life with you.

     He was raised in San Antonio, Texas by his parents, Narcisso and Genoveva. He had 4 brothers, 1 sister, and 5 half-siblings. Arturo grew up during the depression and had to drop out of school at a young age to work in order to help out his family. Some of the jobs he had were shining shoes, picking cotton, and later delivering and fixing furniture. His career as a mechanic started soon after and it became something he enjoyed doing. He could fix practically anything that required tools, sometimes even if you just told him what sound it made.

     He met the love of his life, Ninfa (Nancy), in San Antonio. They were married on August 2, 1943. And were married for 65 years! They had 3 children Gloria, Art, and George. They raised their family in San Antonio until December 1965 when they decided to move to California. They then settled in Fullerton in 1967 across the street from Chapman Park. In 1976 his son Art moved 4 houses around the corner from them. It was great having two houses to go in between while growing up. We all have many memories of that house in Fullerton such as Grandpo's garage filled with many tools and other fun things, avocado trees, dance parties in the backyard patio, playing pool, big Christmas celebrations, and countless family gatherings always filled with laughter and beer!

     Arturo got a job with Ajax Cement Company as a maintenance mechanic and later worked for Sears in the same job and moved up as a supervisor. He worked there until his retirement after an injury to his neck in the late 1980s. In 1990, Grandpo and Grandmo moved to Murrieta but always considered Fullerton their home. He was a hard worker and never stopped working or keeping busy, either in the garden planting something, or in the garage building high chairs, step stools, shelves, crosses, or just about anything, out of wood. He loved being able to make something for us. I bet each of us has something in our house made out of wood with his signature notches in them! 

     His life was always about his family. He was affectionately known as Grandpo to everyone who loved him. He is preceded in death by his lovely wife, Ninfa (Nancy), and survived by his 3 children Gloria, Art, and George. 10 Grandchildren: Joe John, Jacob, Genevieve, Susan, Esther, Adrian, Eric, Sean, Justin, and Jared. 17 Great-grandchildren: Nick, Sierra, Diego, Devyn, Jordan, Rebecca, Samantha, Abigail, Dylan, Jordan, Elizabeth, Alexandra, William, Wyatt, Brody, Finn, and Steve. Finally, 7 Great-Great Grandchildren: Harper, Ava, Lorelei, Gaige, Tate, Willow, Hudson.

     Grandpo was loved by everyone and we will all miss the good times we had with him, his laughter, and his ability to put a smile on everyone's face. He always made sure everyone had what they needed, felt his love, and genuinely felt important to him. And he was tough until the end. Love you, Grandpo!

.    In lieu of flowers or cards, please plant a flower, roses, or anything in your garden in his memory. And next time you have a drink, raise it up to Grandpo!