Horacio Orlando Baca

Horacio Orlando Baca, who was born on September 13, 1931 and baptized on October 11, 1931 at “Our Lady of Sorrows” church in Bernalillo, New Mexico passed peacefully in his sleep in San Diego, CA on May 23, 2022.

His Catholic Faith was at the center of his life. He was active in the San Diego Diocese for 60 years and a parishioner at Our Lady of Grace for the last thirty. Prior to Covid, Horacio faithfully attended daily mass and for the first time in years was able to worship in person again this past Easter. He long served in the ministries of the “Blessed Sacrament Adorers” and the Knights of Columbus.

Horacio was a proud Veteran of Military and Civil Service. He volunteered for the newly minted US Air Force in 1951 during the Korean War and was stationed at Reims AB, France. He was an Aircraft Hydraulic Mechanic in the morning and picked up a hammer to bring the base out of mothballs in the afternoons. He recalled saluting General Eisenhower and meeting him in his shop while the General toured his “favorite” base. Horacio was Honorably Discharged from the USAF as a Reservist in 1959. He went on to Federal Civil Service at Norton AFB as an Atlas Missile mechanic and was whisked away for special duty during the Cuban Missile Crisis. In the early sixties, after marrying his wife Elvia, and with his first son and daughter, Horacio brought his family to San Diego, where he worked at North Island Naval Air Station in Coronado. He took on many roles there and retired as an Aircraft Quality Assurance Inspector with over thirty years of Civil Service.

In retirement, Horacio was able to indulge his lifelong love of gardening, travel and enjoying his family, especially his grandchildren. He also continued volunteering in his community. His history of public service included Scout Leader, decades-long Polling Precinct Captain, HOA President, National Association of Retired Federal Employee Board Member, and so many other boards and committees in all of his communities. He believed in serving others and always did so with integrity and noble intentions.

Horacio was a confident but humble man who instilled strong values in his children, Eddie, Lucille (Terence), James, and Cyndi Shank (Kevin), who are forever grateful for his example of loving fatherhood and a life well lived, and for whom he remains a beacon of love. He is also survived by his sister, Marie Smith, and his two younger brothers, Henry and Keno Baca. Horacio’s five grandchildren, Nathan, Jordan, Matthew, Ryan and Brahm, were gifted with many joyful memories of times spent with him. His great-grandson, Jett, was born one week after his passing and exchanged a “High-Five” with him on the way down! His large extended family and many friends remember him fondly and miss him dearly.