Obituary written and submitted by family:
Obituary for Ramon Prado
Ramon Prado was born in Spring of 1928 to Margarita Ayala and Pedro Prado in El
Monte, CA. He was the seventh child out of eight born, although two older siblings did not
survive infancy. As a child, Ramon worked alongside his parents in the agricultural fields in the
San Gabriel Valley, while living in Hicks Camp. Ramon joined the Merchant Marines in 1945,
and was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1950 during the Korean War and served for two years.
Before leaving for his service, he married Margaret Gomez in August 1950. Upon his return, he
worked at the foundry in El Monte until he joined the El Monte Fire Department in 1960. He was
the first Mexican, Spanish-speaking firefighter in the department. During his 28-year career, he
was Engineer and Fire Captain. He completed an Associate’s Degree in Science, which helped
further his firefighting career. Outside of his career, he was an artful wood-worker and made
many beautiful pieces for family and friends. He passed away peacefully at home this January,
surrounded by family. He is survived by his wife of 70 years, Margaret Prado, their five children,
and six grandchildren, as well as a large extended family. While these are the facts about
Ramon, these stories are how we remember our grandfather.
I remember having a pretty simple but sweet routine with my Grandpa. After everyone
else would go to sleep we would stay up watching whatever might be on TV. A favorite was this
veterinary show with an older guy who would go on various adventures helping farm animals.
Then once it got pretty late my Grandpa would get up and say he was going to sleep. I would
get up, give him a hug and say goodnight. He would always remind me before leaving the room
to turn the lights off before I go to sleep. Then not too long after he went to bed, so would I- and
I would always remember to turn off the lights.
I remember when I cut his hair. He preferred to be bald because he could not stand to
have his hair touching his ear. He hadn’t been able to see a barber in months, and Grandma’s
hands couldn’t handle the precision anymore. I was already going to give my Grandma a haircut
that day, and so they pulled out the razer and its attachments. At first I was worried, and
frightened. I hadn’t used a men’s razor before! I really did not want to accidentally hurt my
Grandpa, giving him a haircut of all things! He’d survived more! But, in the end, Grandpa just
looked at me, shook his head and said, “Nope, you’ll be fine”. Grandma stayed to help show me
how it worked and what to do.
His hair was so long! It took me quite a while to shave his head. Some of that time, we
were in comfortable silence. Other times, we shouted to hear each other over the razor. He
talked about his firefighting days. He asked about my husband. But I saw his life, while shaving
his head. I felt like I learned so much about him even though we weren’t able to talk a lot. He
trusted me so much to be that close to him. When I was done and still fussing, walking around
checking his head, he grabbed my hand and pulled me in for a hug. I’m so glad I had that
moment with him and I am so grateful I had him for as long as I did.
One of the things I remember and value most about Grandpa is his unconditional
acceptance of us. I remember a few instances where we would be around the family dinner
table talking about my big upcoming life decisions or events. Everyone would have their own
opinion or advice on what I should do, what would be best, what I definitely shouldn’t do, etc.
But Grandpa was the one who would say “Hey, just let her do what she wants.” He trusted me,
and all of us, to make the right decision for ourselves. What mattered most was that we were
happy. I’m glad I could always count on him for support in anything.
I last saw Grandpa in October on a quiet Saturday with only a few family members
around. I appreciated having some alone time with him since I typically only saw him in recent
years during family events, and it was hard to get 1-on-1 time. It was the first time I had seen
him since graduating from college and it was wonderful to see how proud he was. These last
few moments with him mean even more to me, and I will cherish them for years to come. The
best memory I have of him was when I watched him work in the garage on his woodworking
during a hot summer day. He was so passionate and proud of what he was making and loved to
explain everything he was doing and how he was able to do such complex work. I sat and
watched as he did his work until the heat became too unbearable and we retreated back into the
cool house. Watching him perform his craft made me appreciate all the pieces he has made for
me over the years.
As one of the grandkids who grew up in CO, my memories of Grandpa are scattered
over the years from visits to CA. Sometimes a lot would have changed between visits,
sometimes it felt like nothing at all. But no matter what, over the years of my life so far, spending
time with Grandpa was always one of the things I looked forward to the most. He was many
things to our family and to his community, but to me, he was a constant source of humor,
support, and unconditional love. He had a formidable arsenal of goofy grandpa jokes and
stories, like that time he fought a crocodile, and won (sure, Grandpa). He never failed to declare
his great skill as a chef (taking credit for grandma's pancakes, of course). He also had a subtler
dry wit, that would hit you unexpectedly in delightfully snarky comments that you couldn't help
but laugh at. Aside from the jokes, Grandpa was also a completely supportive and warm person.
He was always happy to hear about our passions, and expressed curiosity with whatever we
were interested in at the time. He embraced my love of insects, lizards, and other critters from
my early childhood, and helped me catch lizards in the backyard when I came to visit. He also
used his own passions to support ours, crafting gorgeous works of wood art for all of us. I
always felt safe being myself around him, because it was just a given that he accepted us all for
who we are. His unconditional love was always apparent. He was always so happy to have his
family around, and we were always so happy to be with him. We are so lucky to have had him in
our lives.
During one of the lowest points of my life I had difficulty even getting out of bed.
Grandpa was one of the few things that kept me going through those months, even if I only saw
him rarely. He was a man worth fighting for, it didn’t matter what. If that doesn’t tell what kind of
man he was, I don’t know what will.
These are just a few of our memories of our beloved Grandpa. He made such a
wonderful impact on our minds and on our hearts, and we will remember and treasure him
always.
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