David Amador Montanez

David was born on October 5, 1949, to Sal and Zanona Montanez. He grew up mostly in the San Bernardino area with his siblings Sal Jr., Alfred, Larry, Ernestine, Dinah, Gilbert and Linda. Sal and David worked to help build the church of St. Josephs the Worker where David served as an altar boy in his youth. He and his siblings were raised to be respectful, compassionate, and hard working. The Montanez family extends into several other families with several different last names, but at our family’s core are the values instilled by Sal and Zanona. David exemplified that foundation by always being respectful to all, even those who may have been undeserving; he had great compassion for his family and friends and could always be counted on in a time of need; he was the most hard-working man one could ever meet. He was constantly working on projects both big and small for himself as well as for others. It was rare to catch him in complete idle moments. Even if his body took a brief break from his labor, his mind was continuously at work planning and problem solving. The only time he took a break from his hard work at home was when he joined the U.S. Air Force for three years and served his country as an intelligence analyst. He never spoke much of his time in uniform but when he did speak of his time stationed in Germany, he did it with a smile. Following his military service he returned home and continued his education at the University of Redlands. He then worked for the Federal Government where he ultimately found his calling serving veterans by working at the Department of Veteran Affairs as a Bio-Medical Engineer. He retired with over thirty years of service. His greatest accomplishment was becoming a father and after many years of school conferences, games, practices, dance recitals and family vacations, he became a Papa where his dedication and love continued with his grandchildren. It is impossible to summarize David’s entire life into a brief statement, however if you were lucky enough to know David, then you too know what a great man he was. He was not perfect and definitely had a stubborn side, nevertheless he was the most caring, thoughtful and loving son, brother, Dad, Papa, and friend you could ever ask for. Always eager to go above and beyond to help his friends and family. He was the backbone of our family and he will be forever missed.