Thomas Philip Gonzales

Thomas Philip Gonzales of Colorado Springs, CO passed away peacefully on September 28, 2025 after a very long battle with Alzheimer's. In spite of the loss of memory of just about everything in his life, Tom never forgot his wife, children, siblings, or close friends.

Tom was born, the third of six children, on September 6, 1942, in Los Angeles, California to Felix Gonzales and Guadalupe Sedillos. When Tom was in grade school the family moved to Montebello, California. Tom was a happy, outgoing child who loved spending time with his family, playing with friends, and pretending to be a sports announcer. His siblings recall that he would arrive at the LA Dodger games hours early to collect the baseballs during practice. He had a bucket of balls in the garage and would throw them against the wall at just the right angle so they'd bounce off high in the air and then announce the "game". He graduated from Montebello Senior High School and in 1960 entered the Navy where he did a three year tour of duty, part of which was during the Cuban Missile Crisis. He would often talk about his time in Australia and Hong Kong. After being honorably discharged, he received an Associate of Arts at East Los Angeles College and then a Bachelors of Arts in History from Cal State Los Angeles. He worked as an insurance agent most of his life. He was involved in his parish, St. Benedict's Catholic Church, in Montebello where he met his wife of 57 years, Lorraine Lopez.

Tom and Lorraine were married May 4, 1968 at St. Benedict Catholic Church and lived in South Pasadena for a short time before moving to Alhambra, CA. They had four children and stayed active in their parish, Our Lady of the Angels Catholic Church. In 1995, they moved to Homeland, CA and in 2010 to Colorado Springs.

Everyone who knew Tom, knew him for his friendly, outgoing personality, his love of golf, college football (UCLA Bruins), basketball (LA Lakers), and baseball (LA Dodgers and LA Angels), his love for his country, his love for his family and his grandkids, but mostly his love for his faith. He was always active in every parish he belonged to, usually singing in the choir. He especially loved the Traditional Latin Mass. Tom also loved long walks, family vacations to Morro Bay, Solvang, San Diego and Santa Barbara, and keeping tabs with old friends.

Tom is survived by his wife, Lorraine, his children Felix (Tracy), Vincent, Anne (Darrin) and Teresa, his thirteen grandchildren, Michael, Fabian, James Jr., Christopher, Clement, Nicolas, Angela, Leo, Kathryn, Guy, Elliot, Joseph, and Hugh, his brothers Bobby and Billy, and his sisters Betty and Tina He is preceded in death by his parents, Felix and Lupe, and his brother Jimmy.

In lieu of flowers, donations can be made to the Priestly Fraternity of St. Peter https://fssp.com/