Sergio Siordia Venegas

On June 29, 2025, after a year-long battle with cancer, Sergio Venegas, age 72, passed peacefully in his home, surrounded by family.

Sergio Venegas was born on October 30, 1952, in the small town of San Nicolás de Ibarra in the state of Jalisco, Mexico. After the death of his mother, Sergio and his twin sister Josie came to the United States and lived for a year with their grandparents in Ventura, California. There, he began learning English and adjusting to American life. After his father remarried, the family reunited in Santa Maria, California, where Sergio spent the majority of his childhood and adolescence with his siblings. During this time, he was active in the Boy Scouts and developed a love for soccer that remained a lifelong passion.

During his junior year of high school, Sergio briefly returned with his parents and younger brother, Joel, to his hometown in Mexico, but chose to come back to California to complete his high school education. He lived with his older brother, Arturo, and attended Fresno High School. Throughout his youth, Sergio often spent summers in the Bay Area and in Southern California with his older siblings Catalina, Delia, and Miguel. These relationships formed lifelong bonds and deeply shaped his sense of family.

In the years that followed, Sergio began working in the restaurant industry, first as a busboy, dishwasher, and cook, then gradually moving into management. He went on to manage Coco’s and Ruben’s in the San Jose area. During this time, he also began the process of becoming a naturalized U.S. citizen, an identity he embraced with pride and gratitude.

In 1974, while working in the restaurant industry, Sergio met Kathleen Mulligan, who was also working at the same restaurant while attending California State University, Fresno. They married in 1977 in Fresno and soon started a family. Around this time, Sergio returned to college and earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering with a minor in Math from California State University, Fresno. He put himself through school by waiting tables while supporting his wife and children.

After graduation, his first engineering position was at Hughes Aircraft in the aerospace industry in Southern California. He and Kathleen moved to Hawthorne, California, where they lived for five years and welcomed two more children. Wanting to return to Fresno to buy a home, they eventually moved back and Sergio co-founded a small business called Microcomputer Education Center. As the Venegas family grew to six children, Sergio made a major career transition. In 1998 he began working for the State of California at Caltrans, District 6, Fresno, and eventually managed the Traffic Management Center. He was also actively involved in the Emergency Operations Center (EOC), supporting emergency response efforts. He remained with Caltrans until his retirement on March 1, 2025.

Sergio was respected throughout his career for his calm demeanor, sense of responsibility, and outstanding work ethic. He was a gifted mentor and teacher, known for training and supporting others. What he most hoped others would take from his life was the importance of being a good husband and father, and of showing up every day with a strong work ethic. Colleagues appreciated his balance of technical ability and interpersonal skills. He was both capable and kind, a steady presence, and a team player.

Sergio had many hobbies, interests, and passions outside of work. He loved soccer deeply, not only playing it in his youth but coaching dozens of teams over the years, including his children’s and grandchildren’s teams. He volunteered as a commissioner for a local youth league and coached teams at Fresno Christian Schools. Sergio also had a lifelong love of gardening and enjoyed spending hours tending his plants or helping his children maintain their gardens. Before he passed, he was learning the art of Bonsai. He could always be found working on a home improvement or repair project. He earned a drone license and helped implement drone usage at Caltrans during traffic incidents and emergency situations. Sergio volunteered in many capacities, serving on church council, going on missions trips to Mexico, supporting his family's homeschool education, and giving his time to a small local credit union, GVCU, where he served for many years as board president. He enjoyed telling stories, laughing, and spending time with others.

What Sergio loved most was God, his family, his church, and his country.

Sergio was preceded in death by his paternal grandparents, Juan Venegas and Maria Soledad Delgadillo; his maternal grandparents, Miguel Siordia and Catalina Villalobos; and his parents, Arturo Venegas and Josefina Siordia Venegas. He is survived by his wife of 47 years, Kathleen, and their children and partners: Nicolas and Renee, Michelle and Adam, Cristopher and Brianna, Benjamin, Jonathan and Samantha, Jeremy and Aimee. He was also a proud grandfather to 14 grandchildren, whose lives brought him great joy: Micah, Grace, Noah, Karis, Ethan, Rodey, Gemma, Jasper, Logan, Red, Ximena, Rayne, Emery, and Arya.

He is also survived by his siblings: Delia Juarez, Miguel Venegas, Catalina Reyes, Arturo Venegas, Josefina Ellis, and Joel Venegas, and their spouses, as well as his many nieces, nephews, and their families.

A Celebration of Life service will be held on Saturday, July 19, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. at People’s Church, located at 7172 North Cedar Avenue, Fresno, California 93720. All friends and family are welcome to attend. Sergio was a casual, practical man who valued comfort over formality. In that spirit, casual attire is encouraged. If you wish, feel free to wear the colors of his favorite teams: his beloved L.A. Dodgers, Rams, Lakers, Fresno Christian Eagles, Fresno Pacific Sunbirds, or Chivas de Guadalajara. In lieu of flowers, the family encourages donations to be made in Sergio’s memory to a cause that reflects his values, such as Fresno Christian High School’s soccer program, People’s Church, or Hinds Hospice.

Sergio had a simple and heartfelt final message to all who knew and loved him. His final farewell was, “Thank you for being a part of my life.”