Don Ricardo Salazar Sosa died on September 23, 2023 surrounded by his family in Murrieta, California. He was born on April 3, 1938, in San Luis La Loma, Guerrero Mexico. His parents, Maria, and Isabel Sosa had 16 children and he was number 8. The first seven children did not survive childhood and so he became the “older brother” to his siblings. Even though he moved away when his was 18 years old, he took that role and responsibility seriously and throughout his life was there for his siblings. He left San Luis La Loma, Guerrero and traveled to California where he spent the rest of his life. Family members called him “el primer Californiano” or the “first Californian” as he paved the way and sheltered family members as they first arrived and settled in California.
His initial occupation was working as a farm worker on apple orchards, strawberry fields and in floral nurseries. He started working for Professional Community Management Inc, (PCM) the firm that managed Leisure World of Laguna Hills in 1965 as a gardener. By his retirement 40 years later, he had advanced to Landscaping Manager responsible for several landscaping crews who took care of the Leisure World retirement community.
He was married twice. With his first wife Maria and their three children Martha, Ricardo and Roel, he lived in Santa Ana, California. In 1989, he moved to Murrieta California with his second wife Rosa and their two children, Yvet and Ariel.
While he never attended school in Mexico, he knew and valued the importance of an education and the opportunities that it provided. He taught himself to read and write in Spanish and then attended night classes at Santa Ana High School to learn English. He instructed his children by example that tenacity and hard work can help realize one’s goals and success in this world. Ricardo also had a creative side to his personality as he loved music, wrote poetry and song lyrics. His family and friends will remember him for his “sizzling home grown chilis” and for the beautiful gardens his skillful and gifted hands created in every home he ever lived in.
Gardening was one of his greatest passions. He loved being outside tending to his plants, the lemon trees, orange trees and the majestic cypress trees that he had tended to since they were saplings. He had known just how to space the cypress trees so that during summer they provided a canopy of shade to the back yard. The luscious grass and the many beautiful flowers and plants caught the attention of people passing by who often commented “what a beautiful front yard”. In the end it is poetic, that the “gardener” died resting in his hammock surrounded by his beautiful garden, a place of joy and accomplishment for him.
He is survived by his loving wife Rosa and his children Martha, Ricardo, Roel, Yvet and Ariel, by his sisters Maria Luisa, Virginia and Lilia and his grandchildren Max, Christopher, and Jagger. Other survivors include his two daughter’s in-law, Terri and Jessica, his son-in-law Dana and his many cousins, nieces, and nephews. He is predeceased by his parents, his brothers Jose, Raymundo, Diego, and his sister Adolfina.