Obituaries : Jose Valenzuela; Community Volunteer

Jose Valenzuela, a longtime Oxnard resident and community volunteer, died Sunday of heart failure. He was 67.

Born Dec. 16, 1928, in La Union, N.M., Valenzuela grew up in El Paso, Texas. Valenzuela moved to Ventura County in 1945.

“He came out to California like everyone else looking for a better life,” said his widow, Josephine, 60.

After arriving in Ventura County, Valenzuela worked the fields before taking on other jobs. When he met Josephine, Valenzuela was employed as a truck driver. The two married in Tijuana in 1954.

“He was a very outgoing person,” said Josephine, a retired bookkeeper. “He also liked music a lot.”

Valenzuela retired with a disability in 1965 and later started a citizens’ band radio club called Aguilas Aztecas. Valenzuela and his club organized fund-raisers to purchase wheelchairs and other items for needy residents. The club had recently raised money to pay for an ambulance to send to a city in Mexico.

Valenzuela had been a member of the Mexican American Chamber of Commerce of Oxnard.

Other survivors include two daughters, Dalia Gomez and Margarita Zavala, both of Oxnard.

A rosary is planned for 7 p.m. Wednesday at Garcia Mortuary, 629 South A St. in Oxnard. The memorial service will be Thursday morning at St. Anthony’s Church, 2421 South C St., Oxnard. Burial will follow at Santa Clara Catholic Cemetery, 2370 North H St., Oxnard.

Funeral arrangements are under the direction of Garcia Mortuary.