Ambrosio Saturnino; Ex-Billiard Hall Owner

Longtime Oxnard resident Ambrosio “Butch” Virgen Saturnino, a former card-room, bar and billiard hall owner, died Wednesday after a lengthy illness. He was 92.

He was born Dec. 7, 1904, in Jalisco, Mexico, but lived most of his life in Oxnard.

Orphaned at the age of 1, he and his brother, Jose, left Mexico in their early teenage years to live in the United States.

The two brothers worked, walked, hitched rides, jumped trains and rode in a covered wagon as they made their way to Oxnard, said daughter-in-law Lucy Saturnino of Camarillo. Along the way, the pair ran out of food and raided an onion patch one night.

“They ate onions all the way to Oxnard,” she said. “He had some stories to tell like you wouldn’t believe.”

In 1922, Saturnino married Jacinta Meza. They had four children.

After working as a laborer on farms in the Oxnard Plain and traveling around the state following the crop cycles, Saturnino and his brother purchased an Oxnard Boulevard card room in the early 1950s.

Later, the pair purchased a bar on 6th Street and sold it in 1955 when they bought a billiard hall across the street. The two operated the business until retiring in 1991.

“For many years, that billiard hall was raided on a weekly basis, not by the vice squad but by [his] grandchildren and their friends,” said his granddaughter, Rosalie Sommer of Ventura. “The refrigerator was full of soda pop and he always stocked his grandchildren’s favorite candy bars and potato chips.”

She recalled learning to count in Spanish by receiving what he called their “Domingo,” a weekly allowance he gave to his 13 grandchildren when they lined up, hands outstretched, and he counted each dollar bill as it was placed in their hands.

Saturnino, the possessor of a third-grade education, stressed the importance of schooling to his children and grandchildren, and lived vicariously through their accomplishments and achievements, Sommer said.

Saturnino is survived by a son, Conrado Saturnino of Camarillo; a daughter, Mercy M. Saturnino of Oxnard, 13 grandchildren and seven great-grandchildren.

He was preceded in death by his wife in 1953; his brother last year; a son, Ramon Saturnino in 1992, and a daughter, Luisa M. Saturnino in 1996.

Visitation is scheduled from 4 to 9 p.m. Sunday at James A. Reardon Mortuary, Oxnard. The rosary will be recited at 7 p.m.

A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 1:30 p.m. Monday at St. Anthony’s Church in Oxnard, with burial to follow at Santa Clara Cemetery.

Barber, Harris Jerome, 79, of Oak Park, retired mattress company millwright. Pierce Brothers Valley Oaks Mortuary, Westlake Village.

Brown, Monte B., 85, of Ojai, retired Presbyterian minister. Clausen Funeral Home, Ojai.

Carper, James Carnell, 69, of Oxnard, retired janitor. Guardian Memorial Funeral Directors, Oxnard.

Peters, Gladys Irene, 93, of Thousand Oaks, homemaker. Pierce Brothers Griffin Mortuary, Thousand Oaks.

Velasquez, Leila S., 92, of Oxnard, homemaker. James A. Reardon Mortuary, Oxnard.

Ventura County obituaries are published free of charge as a public service to readers. Obituaries are based on information provided by mortuaries.