Benito graduated from West Valley Occupational Center and received a High School Diploma from Los Angeles Unified School District. He met Juanita Torres in Donna, Texas and married on December 27, 1960. Benito had a career as a heavy equipment technician at many companies for over 50 years. He was a very hard worker and had a passion for auto mechanics.
He was preceded in death by Ramiro Padilla.
Benito is survived by his loving wife, Juanita Torres, and son, Roland Padilla.
A visitation for Benito will be held Saturday, May 4, 2024, from 10:00 AM to 1:30 PM at Brookside Funeral Home, 13747 Eastex Freeway, Houston, TX 77039. Military Honors will occur Saturday, May 4, 2024, at 1:30 PM, followed by a funeral service at Brookside Funeral Home. The inurnment time is tentative but expected to be on Monday May 6th.
Benito was very proud that he served for his country in the United States Air Force. Growing up in a small town and seeing the world as he did must have been a life learning experience. He traveled to many bases in the US and served in Korea just after the war there ended. He got to visit Japan in his travels. During his service he was trained as an equipment maintenance engineer and a missile ground support technician.
Upon returning to the US, he served as a Missile specialist in Montana during the era of the Cuban missile crisis. He received a certificate of accomplishment from the commander thanking him for his service.
After service in the military, he and his family eventually moved to California to reside in the Los Angeles suburbs and in Fresno. He worked as a security guard and began training to begin his career as a heavy equipment mechanic. He was employed at California Water and Power as well as other companies. The decision was made to move to Texas in the Houston area working at Entex, Brown and Root as well as Ryder truck rental. He became an experienced mechanic in all facets of repairing heavy equipment. His final employment was with Aldine ISD of which his most rewarding experience was repair of school buses for the safe transportation of children. He took great pride in knowing that he had a hand in their safety.
He enjoyed tinkering with automotive mechanics and loved classic cars which he had. The home he established made many improvements in making it a comfortable and secure home. Over the years, there were gatherings of friends and relatives. There were many good times.
Later in life he was blessed with the new love of his life, his granddaughter Abigail. She was his pride and joy. He was able to overcome certain hardships with divorce and was able to achieve 26 years of sobriety. He was able to remarry his first love in life later, became a very sweet man, and enjoyed life as best he could.
All in all, Benny treasured his journey with family and friends during the many years we were blessed to share. In his last days many families and friends came to see him before his passing. He is well loved and respected.
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