Antonio Solomon Valdez

Tony was born to Jesus Valdez and Cruz Solomon Valdez on January 22,1932 in Brawley, California. His family were migrant workers and traveled up and down the state, following the crops. But Brawley was their home base where Tony and his siblings lived and attended school for most of the year. The family moved to Merced in 1944, where they bought a house and settled down. Tony attended John Muir Middle School and then graduated from Merced High School.

After graduating Tony worked various jobs, including driving trucks and working as a mailman. In 1955, he met the love of his life, Hortensia “Tencha” Romero at a wedding reception. They began dating and married in November 1956. Tony and Hortensia bought a house in Merced and soon started a family. They raised three children - Aurora, Sylvia, and Danny.

As a young boy, Tony had been a Boy Scout and had fond memories of his Boy Scout days. During the 1960’s and early 70’s, Tony became a Boy Scout troop master and was very proud of his Troop 104 scouts. He loved to go camping and in addition to taking his scouts camping, he also took the family on many camping trips. Tony and Hortensia loved to take road trips and often took the family on trips to see the California missions, the coast and relatives who lived throughout the state.

Throughout the 60’s and 70’s, Tony worked at various companies, mainly in manufacturing. Tony worked for several decades at B & T Industries, from where he retired in the 1990’s. After retirement, Tony and Hortensia enjoyed traveling. They especially loved taking trips to New Mexico and to Colorado, to visit their grandchildren. Tony worked on his many hobbies, including woodcarving for which he won several blue ribbons at the Merced County Fair. He continued to work on other woodworking project and the house was filled with many cabinets, tables, stools and other furniture he made. In later years he took up painting, decoupage and other creative hobbies.

Tony was preceded in death by his beloved wife of 63 years, Hortensia, his parents Jesus and Cruz, his brothers Ysmael and Antonio, and his sisters Virginia Raymundo, Adeline Guerrero, Anita Gonzales, and Aurora Valdez. He is survived by his children and their spouses, Aurora Vinci (Lucian) of Oakland, Sylvia Valdez (Lynn) of Merced, and Dan Valdez (Kelly) of Broomfield, CO and their children Alena and Austin as well as many nieces, nephews, grandnieces and grandnephews.

The family would like to thank Seva Hospice for their care and kindness during our father’s last days.

A visitation will be held Wednesday, September 25, 2024 from 3:00 PM to 7:00 PM at Stratford Evans Merced Funeral Home, 1490 B Street, Merced, CA 95341. A rosary will be held on Wednesday, September 25, 2024 from 6:00 PM to 6:30 PM at Stratford Evans. The funeral

service will be held on Thursday, September 26, 2024 from 10:00 AM to 11:00 AM at Calvary Cemetery, 260 W Childs Ave, Merced, CA 95341.