Juan “Chato” Negrete was born in San Bernardino on June 3, 1941. The fifth son born to Luz and Guadalupe Negrete, he grew up in San Bernardino, graduated from San Bernardino High in 1959, and started college at San Bernardino Valley College. He was drafted in the army in 1963. After the army he traveled to Mexico City and studied there. Upon returning to the states, he lived briefly in San Francisco with his friends Vaughn and Donna Dennis. In 1968 he and Linda Gonzalez married at Our Lady of Guadalupe in San Bernardino. In 1972, Linda gave birth to their first daughter, Claudia. In 1975, Juan and Linda welcomed their second daughter, Felicia. That same year, Juan graduated with his Bachelor of Science in accounting from Cal Poly Pomona. Shortly thereafter, Juan worked as an administrator for the San Bernardino County Housing Authority, and retired in 2006 after almost thirty years of service.
Juan met Virginia Martinez in 2001, and received a life-giving kidney transplant in 2008. He began a second journey in life, visiting friends and family, traveling, and going to Colton Football games. Together they completed untold amounts of community service and campaigning, including working on the successful election campaign for Eloise Gómez-Reyes in 2016. Juan was a loyal member of San Bernardino Kiwanis, meeting every Tuesday at Mitla Café in San Bernardino. Juan grew up so close to the Mitla Café, it was almost a second home.
Along with Dr. Tom Rivera and Frank Acosta and many others, Juan volunteered for 34 years with the Inland Empire Future Leaders, an organization that encouraged college enrollment to middle school students. The program has been instrumental in the lives of countless students.
Juan spent the last few years traveling with his family and loved ones. His itinerary included New York, Wisconsin, Chicago, Boston, Rhode Island, and to LA Galaxy games. But his favorite was and always will be New Orleans!
Without fail, Juan attended mass with his family weekly at San Salvador Church in Colton. He attended every family event, big or small. He loved being with his grandson, Hunter, and was so proud of him. He loved his granddaughters, Lily and Abby, to whom he was not only a papa, but also a godfather. He loved music (especially Bill Evans), reading (especially the LA Times and the Sun), baseball, soccer, and good company. On Saturday, May 14, at 8:54 pm he passed peacefully, surrounded by love and embraced by his loving family.
Religious services will be held at San Salvador Catholic Church in Colton, on Friday, June 3, 2022. There will be a 10:00 am closed-casket viewing, 10:30 am Rosary prayer, and 11:00 am mass. Juan will be interred at Mountain View Cemetery in San Bernardino at 12:30 pm. Reception will follow.
COMPARTA UN OBITUARIO
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