Mario A. Hinojosa

It is with great sadness that we announce that Mario A. Hinojosa, of San Jose, passed away suddenly on December 1st, 2011, at the age of 53. He was an Assistant Manager at the Stanford Shop in Palo Alto and a Certified Tennis Professional and Coach. Mario had a 22 year career with Pacific Bell/SBC/AT&T. He began in Customer Service and then moved into Instructional Design, which he excelled at tremendously due to his imaginative and progressive nature. In 1998, he decided that he wanted to turn his life-long passion of tennis into a career and began working as the Head Tennis Coach at California High School in San Ramon. He eventually became the Director of Tennis and a full-time Tennis Pro at the Pleasanton Tennis Center and then later at the Discovery Bay Athletic Club. This was a time that he enjoyed immensely, as it combined both his favorite pastime and his gift for teaching. Mario was a humble and generous soul, a deep, open-minded thinker, a lover of teaching and learning, and a storyteller with an engaging sense of humor. He had a great passion for live music, dancing, sporting events and loved visiting with family and friends.

He is survived by his daughters Anne Hinojosa and Sarah Gameros; son-in-law Rafael Gameros; his father Jesse Hinojosa; brothers Noe Hinojosa and Dan Hinojosa; sisters Clara Pacheco, Vickie Marks and Julie Hinojosa; brothers-in-law John Pacheco and Greg Marks; sister-in-law Deborah Hinojosa; and 6 nieces and nephews. His mother Lilia preceded him in death in 1999.

Mario was a beloved father, son, brother, friend and teacher. He will be deeply missed by all who knew and loved him.