Enrique Basilio Sandi

Enrique was born in La Paz, Bolivia on June 4, 1938, the son of Rodolfo and Vitalia (Fuentes) Sandi.

While in Bolivia, Basilio worked as a driver for the Chief family. They sponsored him so he could come work in the USA. It took him 2 ½ years to get his visa. On March 30, 1961, he moved to Clinton, Oklahoma, and worked in the oil field. When he came to the U.S., he had $132 and his first American meal was a hamburger with fries and a coke at the Houston airport. He paid $1.57 for his meal. When he realized that, he could eat a whole week in Bolivia with $1.57 he got to thinking that he had made a big mistake coming to the U.S. However, when he started working in the oil field he made so much money that he did not know what to do with it. He sent the excess money he earned back home to his community and was able to buy a house for his mother.

His boss told him “This is not the line of work for you. You should join the Air force.” This sentence stuck with him as he did not fully enjoy working there and always wanted to travel. It was a struggle for him to learn because he had only gone to 4th grade in Bolivia. It eventually took him 6 months to learn English and a year to pass the Air Force entrance exam and, he joined on March 31, 1962. For his first assignment, he was stationed at Tinker Air Force Base. And since it was a high clearance base and because he was not yet a U.S. citizen, his first assignment was to be a cook. Basilio did not take kindly to this so he wrote a letter to the commander at the base and told him that he had not joined the Air Force to be a cook; that they knew he was not a citizen and it was their fault they stationed him at the wrong base. They moved him to another base where he became an airplane mechanic. He took every opportunity that was shown to him during his time in the air force. This led him to excel to the rank of Master Sargent. The Air Force fulfilled his dream to travel around the world. He proudly served in the Vietnam War. When he was discharged from the military in which he proudly served for 26 years, he moved to Harlingen, Texas. His love and dedication to Airforce showed in all aspects of life such that he passed on the 74th anniversary of his beloved branch.

Basilio volunteered at the Harlingen Literacy Center. There he taught English, helped others get their GED, and get their citizenship. He wanted to teach English to everyone he met. He worked as a translator, too. It was during this time when he met the love of his life, Elida Ramirez. She was learning English and was one of Enrique’s students. They were married on April 6, 1991. After a trip to Oklahoma, Elida told Enrique that Oklahoma was more prosperous than the valley of Texas where they were living and talked him into moving in the summer of 1994.

In his spare time, Basilio was an avid reader, watched MacGyver and Matlock, and played pinochle. He was a travel enthusiast that had to opportunity to go all over the world. It is easier to list the places Basilio has not been than where he has. His passports are full!

He was always very proud of being a hard worker. He would talk about how he lived a poor life in his first part of life and he had to work ever since he was a kid. He would tell stories of having to get a job as a helper on the buses of bolivia at 12 years old and how it would make him happy to be a hard worker. He carried this mentality throughout his life and would have many different jobs. As stated before, he later drove busses bolivia and eventually ended up being a mechanic and working on cars. Some of the others jobs he took on were working on a large oil company to being an airplane technician and eventually becoming an instructor that teaches people how to work on them in the air force. He also loved to be a football coach throughout his air force days when he was stationed in many different countries. He received many awards for being a great encouragement on the bases he was stationed at. Once he was retired he also worked as a bus driver for local schools and would also be a teacher at literacy centers. Eventually, he had stopped most other jobs but kept on working by starting a tax business where he would help anyone who needed taxes done. This was the last full job he had, but it should also be mentioned that over the course of his life he had taken on many opportunities such as helping the census and local communities such as translating for people in jail. He lived his life by working hard and was very proud of what he was able to do in life.

He was preceded in death by his parents, two sisters, and one son.

He is survived by his wife, Elida O. Sandi; children Victor Hugo Sandi of Warr Acres, Luis Hector Sandi of Austin, and mother in law Catalina Cano; loved ones Efrain Castaneda, Tony Castaneda, Nathan Castaneda, Maitlyn Castaneda, Angelica Castaneda, and his beloved pets Dino, Daisy, Sweety, and Luna Sandi and many nieces and nephews.

Visitation will be at Chapel Hill Funeral Home on Monday, September 27 from 4 pm to 8 pm, and Tuesday, September 28 from 4 pm to 8 pm. A service to celebrate Basilio’s life will be Wednesday, September 29, 2021, at 11 am at Chapel Hill Funeral Home. A committal service with Military Honors will follow at 2 pm at Ft. Sill National Cemetery, Elgin, OK.

Fond memories and expressions of sympathy may be shared at www.chapelhill-okc.com for the Sandi family.