Obituary of Raymundo "Ray" Santos

Raymond (Ray) Santos of Royal Oaks CA left this life on October 27^, 2018, and went before the presence of his Savior, Jesus Christ, surrounded by his loving family. He was born in Las Cruces, NM on October 30, 1938.  He was preceded in death by his infant son Ruben Santos, his dad Santiago Santos, his brothers John and Jimmy Santos, and his nephew James Lee Santos.  He is survived by his wife Ruth Nava and his mother Maria R Santos both of Royal Oaks.  He is also survived by his children: Anthony (Sandra) Santos of Salinas, Anna (Ernie) Salinas of Orcutt CA, David Paul Santos of Kentucky, Agar (Jaime) Cancino of Oregon, Dalilah (Adam) Perez of Salinas, Rhoda Sandoval of Soledad, Zeth (Elizabeth) Gonzales of Soledad;  his siblings: Robert Santos of Royal Oaks, Alfred (Cecilia) Santos of Prunedale, Ruby Santos of Henderson NV, Christina Campbell of Royal Oaks, Ralph Santos of Reno NV, Catherine (Frank) Rivera of Henderson NV,  Irene Santos of Henderson NV, Miguel (Herminia) Santos of Oregon, and Benny (Sophia) Santos of San Jose CA plus numerous grandchildren, nieces, nephews & cousins.

Ray attended Watsonville High School and graduated from Salinas High School in 1958. He earned his criminal of justice degree from Hartnell Junior College. Ray returned many times to Hartnell taking classes in home construction, plumbing. Electrical, masonry & automotive to name a few.

He retired from the County of Monterey after working 32 years in law enforcement as a Deputy Sheriff and with the District Attorney Office as an investigator with both the Special Investigative Unit & with the Dept of Child Support Services.  Before & after his law enforcement career he was a school bus driver for approximately 12 years with both the Salinas Union and North Monterey County School Districts.  He finished his working career as a security guard with Pebble Beach Company. Ray was an avid Pittsburg Steelers fan.

Beginning in 1962 he proudly served with the California National Guard.  He was a frequent blood donor.

He was a member of the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks Lodge #614 in Salinas achieving the post of the Grand Exalted Ruler and Lodge #1300 in Watsonville achieving the rank of Chaplain

In his free time, he enjoyed working on his property and kept busy fixing what was broken, reinforcing the hillside, clearing trails on his hill and relocating barrels full of dirt to other parts of his property; he was rarely idle.  He was an amateur enthusiast of astronomy and geology, enjoyed all things about trains & was an avid Coca Cola paraphernalia collector.  He also enjoyed watching movies from his DVD collection and listened to many types of music being especially fond of Christian music.

All services will be held at the Church of Jesus Christ Temple Philadelphia located at 160 Pajaro Street Salinas CA.

Viewing will be on Nov 1, 2018 from 4 pm to 8 pm with desserts and drinks available in the fellowship hall. On Nov 2, 2018

A celebration of life will be held from 10 am to 12 noon with lunch being provided afterwards in the church hall.