Joseph Gomez

Obituary of Joseph A. Gomez

Our amazing and beloved husband, dad and papa, Joe Gomez, left us in the early morning of July 9, 2021, at peace at last from the ravages of PTSD and Alzheimer’s disease. Our hearts are heavy with the loss of his unconditional love and we will miss him terribly.

Joe was born 78 years ago in San Francisco, CA to Joseph A. Gomez Sr. and Antoinette D’India Gomez. Although he was an only child, he was raised with lots of family in the very near vicinity. He was very proud of his Spanish/Sicilian heritage.

Joe graduated from Mission High School and became employed at the San Francisco Naval Shipyard as a welder apprentice. When that job had a lay-off, he then joined PG&E where he remained for 38 years. He met Laura Johnson when she was 15 and working in a bakery. They married in 1964. He served in the US Navy Sea Bees, with two tours of duty with the Marines in Viet Nam. Joe was very proud of his service to our country. Upon returning from overseas, he accepted an apprenticeship as a rigger at Moss Landing Power Plant so he and Laura moved to Salinas in 1967, a big adventure and complete change of life. When their only child, Michael (Goober) was born in 1972, it was the greatest day of Joe's life and he was a terrific dad. He and Goober had many adventures and spent a lot of time together in various pickups, listening to music.

Joe was known for wearing a cowboy hat, his deep love of his family and friends and of animals. In the late ‘70s, he became a certified farrier and greatly enjoyed that part time work. He had a terrific sense of humor and an unyielding sense of decency. We have all experienced the Sicilian Hate Look when things were not to his standards. He was a terrific provider for his family and worked hard to give us a good life.

For many years, he volunteered with his good friend, Jim Silva, in maintaining the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park.

He is survived by his wife of 57 years, Laura, his son, Michael, of Montana, grandsons, Joseph Lewis of Newman CA, and Anthony Gomez of Montana, his “daughter”, Heather McNaughton and her husband, Sean, his dear friends of over 50 years, Duff and JoAnn Stanion, who have always been there for our family, brother-in-law, Jody Johnson (Lydia) of Ocala, FL, sister-in-law, Vicki Johnson (Len d) of Baltic, CT, cousins, nieces and nephews.

Since January 2020, he had been a resident of Madonna Gardens Memory Care, going through the pandemic with no physical contact with his family, a terrible time for everyone. The separation from his loved ones had a very detrimental effect on his emotional health and shortened his life. Thanks go to Dr. Rebecca Abundis for her guidance, kindness and understanding over the years as we dealt with the progression of Joe’s disease, the staff at Madonna Gardens, especially Samantha Lopez, for taking such loving care of him to the end, to the nurses and aides at Bridge Hospice for keeping him clean and comfortable and allowing his peaceful death, and to our neighbors and friends who have been so supportive on this long, sad journey. He is now free from confusion and pain, hopefully with one of his dogs at his side.

Graveside services will be held at 11:00 AM on July 26, 2021 at California Central Coast Veterans Cemetery, 2500 Parker Flats Road, Seaside, CA 93955.

To send flowers to the family or plant a tree in memory of Joseph Gomez, please visit Tribute Store
A Memorial Tree was planted for Joseph
We are deeply sorry for your loss ~ the staff at Healey Mortuary and Crematory
Share Your Memory of
Joseph