Domingo R. Quintero

Lifetime resident of San Diego since 1959, Domingo Ruiz Quintero, passed away at 8:03 a.m. on Thursday, March 21 at Scripps Memorial Hospital in La Jolla after a courageous battle with cancer. Domingo was an extraordinary man and he died as he lived – surrounded by his family and a great deal of love.

Mr. Quintero was an excellent man. Born on January 14, 1934 in Florence, Arizona, Domingo was only son of Raphael Beltran Quintero and Maria Ruiz Quintero. He was a graduate of El Centro High School, University of the Redlands and one of the first Mexican-Americans to graduate from Stanford University. As a young man he excelled at baseball and basketball and he was the winner of the prestigious New York Times Spelling Bee Award at the age of 17.

After his graduation with honors from Stanford University, Mr. Quintero returned to San Diego, where he worked as a public finance manager and a manager at Drew Ford. Eventually, Mr. Quintero enrolled in law school and graduated with a Juris Doctorate from Western State University Law School. In 1971, he passed the California Bar at the age of 37.

Along with his son Ralph, who is also an attorney, Mr. Quintero built a very successful legal practice - THE LAW OFFICES OF QUINTERO & QUINTERO - a family business and a trusted law firm in the heart of San Diego and El Centro. The firm was started in 1971 by this father and son team, with over 80 years of experience. Mr. Quintero was a Principal Partner.

Mr. Quintero was known as an outstanding litigator and a gifted public intellectual. He was a champion for the underdog and an advocate for those rejected by others.

As a Latino lawyer he believed that each individual, regardless of ethnicity or gender, should have equal access to the courts and governmental institutions and he insisted that all of his clients be treated with the utmost dignity and respect. He specialized in Civil Law, Criminal Law, Family, and Personal Injury. He helped countless individuals and families over the course of a stellar legal career.

Mr. Quintero was preceded in death by his late wife Evangeline Bracamonte Quintero.

He is survived by his wife Lourdes Millen Quintero, and seven children - Ralph Quintero (spouse Patti), Lucinda Rene "Neyna" Quintero, Raquel "Bebe" Quintero Winstead (spouse Timmy), Sonia "Macita" Quintero Lopez, Giovanna Quintero, Francisco "Paco" Quintero and Ricardo Quintero. He is also survived by six grandchildren.

If the impact of one’s life is measured by the lasting imprint on those closest to him – then the legacy of Domingo Quintero will live on for generations to come. He was an outstanding father and grandfather, a beloved husband, a hero to his entire family and champion for all of his people. He was deeply loved by his entire family and greatly admired by all of those he came in contact with. If you were to dust the world for prints, you would find the fingerprints of this great man in a thousand different places – serving with great care, loving with great abandon, encouraging and inspiring his family and bringing great joy into the lives of all he met. His spirit lives on in the lives of his family and friends. He will be greatly missed.

A Celebration of the life of Domingo R. Quintero will be held at Glen Abbey Chapel of Roses at 3838 Bonita Road, Bonita CA, 91902 with a reception to follow at Glen Abbey’s Little Lodge.