All Obituaries

Maria Kekai Barrientos, 89, of Knoxville, TN, ended her battle with Alzheimer’s on July 13, 2021, surrounded by her family. Maria was born December 23, 1931, in Honokaa, Hawaii to Andres Quartero and Sarah Kekai. Maria was a Pearl Harbor survivor who was proud of her Hawaiian culture. She found great joy in Hula dancing and teaching others about her Hawaiian heritage. Throughout her life, she worked various jobs to include agricultural work and elderly health care. She was a faithful...

Leobarda Rios de Zuñiga (Barajas), a longtime resident of Watsonville, born on January 18, 1945, to parents Mateo Rios and Tomasa Barajas, died on July 10, 2021. She was 76 years old. Leobarda was a wonderful mother and wife who enjoyed cooking for her family, spending the afternoons sitting outside on a bench with her husband, and going to the mall and restaurants with her daughters. But her favorite thing to do was taking care of her numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren,...

Victor Lewis ~ November 3, 1947 – July 7, 2021 Victor Lewis passed away at home with his wife and son by his side after a courageous battle against metastatic prostate cancer. Vic was born in Phoenix, Arizona to parents Bert and Thelma Lewis. He graduated from Watsonville High School in 1965 and served in the U.S. Navy from 1969 to 1971. He was stationed on Midway Island for one year and then aboard the USS Pivot, a minesweeper stationed off the coast of Viet Nam. After his...

Emily Velasquez died suddenly in Watsonville on July 6, 2021. She was 88. Emily was born May 30, 1933 in Texas to Luis Fuentes and Isabel Renteria. She was a homemaker and was also very active in bowling, darts, puzzles, playing dominos and cards with family, and listening to Mexican music. Emily liked watching the S.F Giants and attending her grandkids sporting events. She loved cooking, especially for her family. She is preceded in death by her parents, siblings; Clara, Frank, and Steven,...

Alejandra Isabel Hinojosa was born and raised in Watsonville, CA. She attended Aptos High School and also graduated from Heald College. She was currently working at Amazon in Tracy, CA. She was a loving wife to husband Vicente Hinojosa and mother to her three children; Lilly Charlette (11), Vicente Alonzo (9), and Romeo Alexander (2), whom she loved dearly. One of her favorite things to do was baking for her children and family parties. She also enjoyed taking her children to her favorite...

Henry “Hank” Schimpeler passed away on June 29, 2021, in the home he built. He was 93. Hank was born July 22, 1927, in Louisville, KY to Ernest Francis & Carmen Marie (Mestayer) Schimpeler, one of eight children, and named after his paternal grandfather, Henry. Hank attended St. James, St. Francis of Assisi, and St. Xavier HS. Three days after receiving his high school diploma, he signed into the Coast Guard/U.S. Navy (1945-1946).  Eleven months later, at the age of 19,...

Pedro "Pete" Avelar (Garcia) was born on August 3rd 1965 in Nochistlan, Zacatecas, Mexico. He came to the U.S. as a young boy at the age of 8 years old with his mother and his two younger siblings and settled here in Watsonville. He enjoyed the outdoors and going on longs walks. Camping and BB-Q’s were some of his favorite hobbies. He married the love of his life, Angela Hernandez in 1993. Family members and friends would describe him as an unselfish, caring person who would...