Jose “Joe” C. Verdugo Jr. born January 17, 1941, passed away on August 27, 2020. He went home to be with his Maker and Heavenly Father. With heavy hearts and tearful eyes, we said goodbye to our beloved Dad, Tata, Big Brother, Tio, Cousin and Friend.
He was preceded in death by his wife of 38 years, Amelia Ramon, parents, Mr. & Mrs. Jose R. Verdugo and Teresa zH. C. Verdugo and two brothers Barney C. Verdugo and George C. Verdugo.
He is survived by his one and only daughter Frances (Adrian) Esquer, 3 Grandsons: Michael and Fiancé Racheal, Adrian (Sandy) Santino and Julian. Two sisters Mary-Teresa C. V. Lopez and Betty C. Verdugo. Joe was the oldest of five siblings, three brothers and two sisters: and numerous other cherished family members. Joe was loved and will forever be missed; may he rest in eternal peace.
Joe was a Veteran, in the Army, SP4 E4(P) a Combat Engr. who served in the Army overseas in Deutschland Germany for 3 years and stood guard at the Berlin Walls. Decorations, Medals, Badge, Commendations, Citations, and Campaign Ribbons awarded or authorized; Sharpshooter (Rifle M-14), Safe Drivers Badge, H/S equiv (GED) 1961, Bt1 Indoc ATP, 21-114, Code of Conduct, Crse B Mil Just, Crse A NonJudPun and was a Proud Solider to have served his country.
Relentlessly social, Joe made friends wherever he went, and he went to a lot of baseball fields and places. In particular, Harmon Park, he enjoyed group activities such as baseball, which he played nearly every night with whatever friends he could convince to show up. Joe’s depth of trivia, knowledge never ceased to amaze people, but he wasn’t interested in bringing attention to himself, rather, he enjoyed his baseball team and winning as a team.
Joe also loved music and played several instruments, the trumpet, and congas, where he meant Carlos Santana, who allowed him to play in his band while he came on his tour to Phoenix, Arizona. Carlos always looked up Joe when he came to Phoenix, Arizona to assist him. Also, Joe loved the band Chicago, James Brown and numerous of other bands.
He also loved to cook and enjoyed family gatherings, he was the family chef and he also was an excellent barbeque man. He would always share his recipes and even went the extra mile to show you how to make his favorite dishes. He was an excellent teacher at teaching you the safety rules of starting a barbeque grill fire, not to mention his specialties and secrets of barbecuing (finger licking good). Not to mention the Turkey for Thanksgiving Day that he prepared and his delicious tamales for Christmas Day dinner that he and Amelia prepared.
He was more than willing to teach our family generation his wisdom, that family came first, and we needed to respect one another. Stop the bickering back and forth and don’t argue, agree to disagree and listen to one another. Our father Jose Sr.’s last words were, (no se palina) and our brother Joe Jr. left us with the same words, their words were wise advice.
A Graveside ceremony will be held on Tuesday, September 29, 2020 from 1:00 to 3:00 PM with Father Tony Sotelo, Army Honors and Taps. Burial will be at, Saint Francis Catholic Cemetery, 2033 N. 48th St, Phoenix, AZ 85008.
A Special thanks to Barb of Whitney & Murphy Funeral Home and Carmen of Saint Francis Catholic Cemetery, for being so caring, loving and above all patient through so many changes. God bless you both, on behalf of Jose Verdugo’s family. Condolences and Hugs from Home may be expressed at www.whitneymurphyfuneralhome.com.
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