Augustine Vargas Ayala

He will be forever remembered by his wife of 70 years Ann and his six children, two daughters-in-law, two sons-in-law, Glen (Diane), Richard (Rosa), Laura (Paul), Jeff, Teresa (David), 10 grandchildren, and 12 great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his daughter Toni who died at the age of 18 in 1970.

Gus was an Army World War II Veteran who was stationed at the Presidio of San Francisco and continued in a civilian role at the Presidio until he retired. He was an active member of the community, a past President of the Santa Clara Lions Club, Guadalupe Society, and the Santa Clara Chapter of the American GI Forum where he held various roles of office. You would see him actively participating at the yearly Cioppino Feed, the Santa Clara Art and Wine Festival and giving of his time and talents in service.

Gus joined a Tap Dance group after retiring and tapped his way to perform at the World’s Fair. He participated with his tap dance group in parades in San Jose and Redwood City. Gus loved a good game of golf with friends at 6:30 a.m. after retiring up until his 90s when his eyes started to fail. In his early years he was politically active, supporting farmworkers’ rights, working with Cesar Chavez to stop harmful pesticides on grapes, openly discussing the effects pesticides had on farmworkers, especially pregnant mothers to be and the birth defects on their babies. Our family boycotted grapes for a few years until changes were made. Gus was active in helping to put Proposition 13 on the ballot, to keep property taxes low in California. At City Hall in Santa Clara there is a time capsule with a picture of Gus inside, to be opened in 100 years.

Gus was a big San Francisco Giants fan, for years you would see him and Ann watching all the Giants games and cheering their team on. What an impressive long love affair he had with his wife Ann, 70 years of dancing. He loved his Jazz music, they often danced the Jitterbug together. He still opened her door and held her hand, spoke the sweetest words to her and he called her “his angel”. After he gave up golf, they went to the gym three times a week and would have lunch at the Senior Center where they would eat lunch with their friends and dance. Also, he enjoyed visiting with his many friends until he became ill in October 2017.

Gus was a real family man, a devoted father that enjoyed his time with his children and grandchildren. He loved a good visit with his family, always so happy to see them and they came often. He always had a story to tell them. He was the life of our party, the leader of our family, always seemed happy and blessed. He loved God and lived a Christ like life. He was a member of the Saint Lawrence the Martyr Catholic church in Santa Clara for many years. Gus was kind to everyone, slow to anger, long suffering, welcomed all to his table. He was patient, a good friend and never spoke ill of others. He always seemed interested in what you had to say. He called his daughters “Honey” in such a loving way. I can honestly say he was one of the nicest person I ever knew. Gus was a great cook, we will miss his delicious Chile Verde and Spanish rice, to name a few. Togetherness was very important to our father, he spoke to us children days before he died on how we wanted us to all stay together. We told him we would do our best. 99 years of a good life of Augustine (Gus) Vargas Ayala. Written by daughter (Daddy’s Girl) Laura.