Manuel Richard Cota

Born October 6, 1945 to George and Mary Louise Cota in Santa Maria, California, Richard lived most of his young life in Guadalupe and Santa Maria, with his 10 brothers and sisters and many friends. He attended elementary school in Orcutt, California and Santa Maria High School.

Richard moved to Southern California in 1966 where he met Louise “Louie” Palomino. They married in 1967 and eventually settled in Westminster, California. The same year, Richard enlisted in the Army where he was assigned to the 137th 19th Combat Engineer Battalion. He served two tours of duty in Vietnam in 1968 and 1969. During his service, his unit was awarded the Army Valorous Unit Citation for their extraordinary heroism. Under the constant threat of enemy attack, Richard and others in the Unit worked to upgrade and rebuild the roadway networks in Bong Son, allowing the critical transport of supplies to military personnel throughout Vietnam. In 1969, Richard was seriously injured in a landmine explosion that occurred as he graded roads as part of this mission. He was hospitalized but returned to his post within two weeks and served out the rest of his tour. Richard was awarded the prestigious Purple Heart for suffering wounds in the line of duty. He was very proud of his service and his role as a Veteran. Toward the end of his enlistment, while stationed at the Presidio in San Francisco, California, Richard used his time to complete his high school education. In his later years, he volunteered at the Long Beach Veterans Administration Center assisting fellow veterans with the application process for much needed and deserved benefits.

Richard was always known to have a strong, diligent work ethic. His first job was shining shoes in Guadalupe at the age of 10 for 25 cents. He gave his mom all of his earnings and she would return 5 cents for him to enjoy a movie. In his teenage years, he worked for Point Sal Packing in Guadalupe and in the agriculturally-rich fields of the Santa Maria Valley. He later worked as a Teamster in Orange County, California, driving trucks to and from work sites. He attended college in Florida to advance his skills as an engineer. Combined with his experience in the Army, he used these newly acquired skills to become an Operating Engineer in 1976. He worked his way up to the position of Grade Checker, a job for which he was extremely proud. He continued in this career until 1996 when he was forced to retire after suffering a stroke. Throughout his life, he continually worked hard for his family and he pursued greater opportunities to better himself and to support them. He was known as a dedicated perfectionist on the job; he never called out sick. He was known for saying, “Do it right the first time” and “Don’t Mickey Mouse it.”

Richard and Louie raised four children: Manuel Jr. (“Richie”), Christina, Gracie and Louie. He was proud of all his children and their accomplishments, but he was most proud of his grandchildren who he spoiled rotten. He enjoyed cheering them on at their games, attending their performances, and playing cards and dominoes with them. While he was known to be disciplinarian with his grown children, he turned into a giant teddy bear with his grandchildren, and beamed with pride when talking to others about them.

Richard enjoyed camping with his family. Most summers the family would travel to Cachuma Lake, or nearby Red Rock to enjoy warm summers together. He was also known to take his family to Baja California, Mexico where legendary family camping trips took place and countless memories were made. He enjoyed family trips up the Coast to Santa Maria, and spending quality time with his family, especially his sisters Anna, Henrietta, and Rosalie, and his nieces and nephews. He was a master at the art of Santa Maria Style Barbeque and his tri-tip and barbeque chicken were savored by all.

Richard was a faithful servant of the Lord. He was a parishioner at Blessed Sacrament Church for over 50 years. He was strong-willed and even stubborn at times, but he also had an enormous heart. He was often referred to as a “favorite Tio” by many of his nieces and nephews and as a “father-figure” to many. He was hard-working, and did everything he could to provide for his family and to afford them every opportunity to advance their dreams. He was clever and always handy. He enjoyed tinkering in his garage, working on endless projects at home, and loved waxing his cars and trucks. He always kept himself busy. He was resourceful and proud to use what he called his “Mexican ingenuity” to fix or build almost anything.

He is preceded in death by his parents, George Valero Cota and Mary Louise Cota; his brothers, George W. Cota and Gilbert Cota; his sisters, Sara Cota and Maria Solorio. He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Louise Cota; his children Manuel Cota Jr., Christina Cota, Gracie (Kevin) Pham, and Louie (Olivia) Cota; grandchildren, Christian, Victoria, and Vincent Pham, Eric Cota, and Lorenzo and Dominic Cota; his sisters, Anna (Art) Limon, Henrietta Cota, Rosalie Garza, Gloria Vasquez, and Dora Almaguer; brothers, Frank and Harry (Mary) Cota. He is also survived by numerous nieces and nephews. He loved his family dearly and he was adored and respected by many. He will be missed profoundly by all.

A Rosary and Mass with full military honors will be held at Blessed Sacrament Church on November 16, 2024, beginning at 12:00 p.m. The church is located at 14072 Olive Street, Westminster, CA.