Florentino H Ponce

He was born on October 16, 1947 to Jose Ponce and Felipa Heredia de Ponce. He was one of six children. He had 2 brothers (Tomas and Ventura) and 3 sisters ( Antonia, Rosalia and Diony). He completed school through 6th grade at La Escuela Manuel Aguilar Saenz in Juarez, Mexico. As a young boy, he found a mentor who taught him how to be a Mechanic. He loved cars, especially classic cars! For years, he went back and forth to Texas for work including welding. At the age of 18, he enlisted in the Military service. At some point, he was given the nickname “El Russo.” He also gave most of his friends a nickname.

At the age of 20, he married Margarita who was 16 years old. They had a son Gabriel and daughter Rosa “Isela”. They resided between Huntington Park to Compton to Highland Park. This couple went their separate ways after 12 years of marriage.

Florentino later had 2 more daughters, Rosa Maria and Juana from a second relationship. While living in City Terrace, he continued to work as a mechanic for his brother Tomas at Ponce’s Body Shop. He and his brother Tomas shared many weekends playing Handball at Bristow Park. He also enjoyed playing darts and pool.

In his older years, he enjoyed reading all kinds of books and his daily La Opinion newspaper. He would read the whole paper in one sitting and would keep it to have something to read later in the day.

He loved to eat! He loved food! He loved Mexican food, pancakes from Mc Donald’s, my omelettes and mom’s chile rellenos. He enjoyed a big breakfast (as you can see most of his pictures have a big plate of food) and anything sweet from candy to pan dulce with coffee or hot chocolate! He also could not enjoy his food without chile.

He is survived by his grandkids: Lance, Jessica, Edgar, Gabriel Jr., Sabrina and David.