Jose J.A. Rojas

Jose Jesus Andrade Rojas was born in Guanajuato, Mexico on a small working family farm. At the age of two, he lost his mother. His father remarried. He lived with his Father and Stepmother for a short time. At the age of six, he quit school and moved in with his older brother. It was here that he established his work ethic. He did his share of the chores, awaking at dawn to tend to the animals or plant the corn or wheat.

He had heard so much about the United States, streets paved in GOLD and ample opportunity for work. He decided that this was an opportunity he could not pass up. He met and married Benita Resendez. They would go onto celebrate 65 years of marriage. They had four children, three daughters and one son. Eugene did not live past his day of birth.

In the beginning, Jose worked many jobs to support his family. He traveled as a migrant worker picking a variety of fruits and vegetables. He joined a construction crew and ultimately was hired on with the City of San Bernardino as a Refuse Worker. It was hard work but he was not afraid of a challenge. He tested for and was promoted to a Lead-man position. After 20 years, he retired.

He was a big believer in education, a humble man who self-taught himself to read and write. He was an inspiration to his daughters. He wanted them to understand that what they learned was to benefit them. He stressed this often in quiet conversation, one on one or with them in a group. He saw every opportunity as a chance to learn something. When the winds blew down the fences, he had the girls holding posts, hammering nails and mixing cement. He felt that these life skills would come in handy, in the distant future. He wanted his girls to be independent but to also rely on their own ability to do things on their own.

There were many things that Jose enjoyed doing. He bought and restored a 49 Chevy with the help of the girls. He loved mowing the grass and trimming the fruit trees. He took the family to Disneyland and liked to have the whole family ride both the “Pirates of the Caribbean” and “The Haunted Mansion.”

He worked hard going in on his days off and even on days when he was sick. His idea of relaxing was spending time with his family. Benita decided he needed a hobby and asked him to find one the whole family could participate in. After some trips to the sporting goods store and many conversations with store personnel. He announced that the family would take up fishing. Most of the trips to distant lakes started at the crack of dawn and ended well after dawn the following day. The girls learned to bait the hooks, cast the line and even clean their fish. When asked by other fishermen who of the young men were his, he would laugh and say the three girls catching fish over and over. He sometimes spent more time untangling lines or answering questions about when would we be going home.

He was a great cook, teaching his girls how to make a variety of traditional Mexican foods. He was a perfectionist and taught the value of doing things right the first time and not cutting corners. He also enjoyed making Christmas cookies and decorating them. He was very involved with his girls. He helped them learn how to sew on sewing machine. He constructed ropes to help them learn how to roller-skate. He taught them to bike ride making sure they did not fall, running alongside them. He even took up latch hook rug making. When the girls showed interest in playing baseball he played several positions, pitcher, shortstop and first baseman, even if he had just worked 8 hours that day. He made the effort to play. He enjoyed competition and during holidays, he and Benita enjoyed competing for prizes during family get-togethers. Later they took the competition to Pechanga Casino, where they sat side by side eyeing each others winnings.

When Michelle needed assistance in cutting out the project items for her science class the family rallied together and cut out the shapes. This became a weekly task. Dad was always the last to finish. Not because he was slow but because again anything worth doing is worth doing right the first time. He knew that the students would be learning about bugs or clouds and he was all about the learning.

As a father, he was amazing, never letting a moment go by without providing insight or advice. This was his second most important role. The love he had for his wife was strong and true. They were never apart. They always greeted one another with a smile. They watched TV together. He knew all the characters on “Days of our Lives.” If she needed help, he was by her side in a flash. He was happy to do the smallest of things for her, opening a bottle of water or sharing a banana. He was her best friend and she was his. At times Mom would say he was a very devoted family man, hearing this made him smile.

She preceded him in death on March 16, he followed her on March 27th.He is survived by eldest daughter Sylvia Maxwell, Son in law Robert Maxwell, Grandson Jason Maxwell, middle daughter Anna Lisa Rojas and youngest Michelle Lynn Rojas.