Guadalupe Gutierrez passed away on March 25, Good Friday, in Santa Monica at age 83. Born April 8, 1921 in Pomona, Calif., “Lupe” lost his mother when he was an infant and was left by his father in the care of another family who took him to Mexico when he was 9 years old.
Before he left, he told his childhood sweetheart, Carmen, that he would someday return to marry her. At 13, he left his step-family and spent several years traveling by foot through central Mexico, supporting himself with any work he could find. He re-entered the states at Juarez. A Texas judge told him that if he could prove his American citizenship he could obtain a passport. With the help of family friends who vouched for him, he was able to establish his identity and return to California. He married Carmen when he was 21 years old.
As his family grew, he worked hard to support them, delivering the LA Times and running a landscaping business while working full time for the city of Beverly Hills in a job he held for 41 years.
As hard as he worked, Lupe loved to play. He and Carmen went to clubs in Los Angeles and Santa Monica, dancing to the music of Harry James and other big bands. In retirement, he became an avid golfer and a member of the Mexican American Golf Association. He bowled as well, continuing into his 80s on a Santa Monica league with his daughters. He always had a story or joke to tell and made friends everywhere he went.
Lupe is survived by Carmen and five children: Ysabel, Manuel, Anne, Richard and Theresa, as well as 13 grandchildren and 11 great grandchildren who will all miss him greatly. There will be a viewing and rosary for him at Gates Kingsley Gates Mortuary at 7 p.m. on Tuesday and funeral mass and burial at 9:30 a.m. at the Risen Christ Chapel, Holy Cross Cemetery at 5835 W. Slauson Ave. in Culver City.
Originally published in the Santa Monica Daily Press print edition on March 29, 2005. Read the original PDF.