Socorro Antonio Gonzales—who by chance escaped being born amid the violent aftermath of the Mexican revolution only to later fight in WWII and who is the grandfather of the legacy bilingual newspaper El Tecolote—died on March 11, 2022 of prostate cancer. He was 97.
His life was a full one. And one that is damn interesting.
Socorro—the Mexican farmworker boy with a name that didn’t really fit the mouths of his friends growing up—was born in Fresno, California on Oct. 20, 1924. But his journey didn’t start there.
His Mexico City mother, Sara Rita, was pregnant when she informed her then husband that she wanted to raise their child north and away from the violence of post-revolution Mexico. Staying to fight for his “tierra,” though, was more important to him. And so Sara Rita, along with her sister, left and began her journey north. When the sisters made it to Fresno, Sara Rita opened the local phonebook, scrolled down a list of names, and landed on a familiar one but with a Portuguese twist—Gonzales.
It was the surname she gave her firstborn, Socorro.
Like many depression-era children, Socorro grew up quick. His mother eventually remarried and had seven more children—two girls and five boys. Having to support eight children, Sara Rita and her husband would follow and pick the seasonal crops up and down the Central Valley.
“All of their kids would get in the fields to help out if needed,” said Juan Gonzales, Socorro’s son. “And it was needed.”
One season, the family came up to Stockton where they settled. Sara Rita’s husband, however, had ideas of moving the family to Mexico. But Sara Rita was determined to make her life in the States.
“So he went back,” Gonzales said. “So now she was a single parent with eight kids.”
And so by age 14, Socorro, who loved school yet struggled to come up with the cash to buy school supplies such as pencils, paper and gym clothes—money that could’ve been used to feed his siblings—became the “man of the house.” Abandoning his dream to pursue education, Socorro found good work at the Stockton port. It was all manual labor, and hard.
“But he never regretted it,” Gonzales said of his dad. “He was the good son in that regard. Trying to provide for the family.”
Amid the hard labor and making sure his siblings didn’t stray, Socorro found moments to enjoy his youth. He excelled in ‘sandlot’ sports, and honed his swimming skills in the San Joaquin river.
But it was during one of his trucking delivery routes that he noticed a clerk working at a local store, Sarah Rita Gomez. He wanted to make her his wife. But to do that, he needed to first win over Sacramento Gomez, Sarah Rita’s mother.
Sacramento was single-mother Mexican tough.
But Socorro was smooth, had a car, and learned that Sacramento liked shopping. So he offered to take her shopping, hauling all of her goods in his car.
“And he did that on a number of occasions,” Gonzales said. “And man, dad was her charm. He could do no wrong. So he was able to win her over. And she was his biggest supporter.”
But despite Sacramento’s blessing, Socorro and Sarah Rita didn’t marry right away. Like many young men at the time, Socorro volunteered to fight in WWII.
Sarah Rita agreed to wait, but harbored doubts that Socorro would return. Her brother, John, would later die in the war. And in 1943, private Socorro Gonzales enlisted in the U.S. Army. Under the command of general George Smith Patton, private Gonzales was part of an artillery unit that provided cover for the U.S. troops on the beaches of Normandy, France.
As the war rages, private Gonzales found time to write letters to his betrothed. He did so until the war ended in 1945. And on Feb. 17, 1946, Socorro married Sarah Rita in Stockton. A year later, the couple welcomed their first child. A boy. They named him Juan. Five years later, the couple welcomed their second child, a daughter they named Sarah.
As the sole income earner, Socorro toiled in a Stockton lumber mill, working day and night. Eventually, his mother-in-law Sacramento—who he had charmed years earlier and who was now her favorite son-in-law—gave him $5,000 to buy their first home on California Street.
“He was just a hard worker, and committed to his family,” Juan said. “And so he did everything that he could to ensure that we wouldn’t go hungry or unclothed or unsheltered.”
Socorro, the boy who was told that school wasn’t for him because he was poor and Mexican, now had the chance to give his children something he never had—a chance at higher education.
Socorro’s son Juan graduated from Stockton’s Franklin High School and later attended SF State. After graduating in 1968, Juan returned to teach the Raza Journalism course at the newly established College of Ethnic Studies. In the spring of 1970, Juan and a small group of students plotted the launch of a free community bilingual newspaper that would bring much needed resources and information to San Francisco’s underserved and growing Latino community. On Aug. 24, 1970, El Tecolote—the newspaper you’re reading now—took flight.
Around the same time as El Tecolote was launched, Stanford University recruited Juan. In 1977, Juan completed his masters in Journalism from one of the most prestigious universities on the west coast.
Socorro, who had only known hard labor since childhood, didn’t quite understand his son’s passion for journalism. But he supported it nonetheless, oftentimes donating to the newspaper.
After decades of working at the mill and becoming a forman, Socorro retired in his 60s. Thrifty and smart, Socorro and his wife Sarah Rita lived comfortably in retirement in Stockton.
“He did alright for himself,” Juan said. “This kid who had nothing.”
On Sept. 14, 2014, Socorro lost his wife of 68 years. He lived the rest of his life in Stockton, mostly alone. Juan, the Chair of CCSF’s Journalism Department, and his sister kept in touch as best as they could.
“He always found things to do,” said Juan, describing his father’s passion for gardening and his pet fish and cat. “He would occupy his time with things, novel things that he didn’t get a chance to do because he was so busy working.”
Juan celebrated his 75th birthday on March 11, 2022. Two days later, Juan lost his dad.
“He was always telling me, ‘I want to live to be 100.’ That was his goal. He came close,” Juan said. “When you lose a parent it is heart-wrenching…the sadness and tears seem endless. But fortunately there are countless fond memories that soften the pain. Thanks dad for giving me the encouragement for my endeavors in life and for the social justice values I embrace. You have always been the wind beneath my wings.”
Socorro is survived by his son Juan of Daly City; daughter Sarah Munoz; brothers Tino, Frank and Richard; and sisters Helen Sanchez of Sacramento and Carmen Delao. He leaves four grandchildren: Agustin of San Francisco; Marialma Cruz of Daly City; Paul Munzo of Sacramento, and Sarah Arriola. He also leaves four great grandchildren: Emiliano of Daly City, Alejandro of Daly City, Laurelle, and Landon.
A rosary is scheduled on Thursday, March 24 at 5:30 p.m. at Casa Bonita Funeral Home, 2500 Cemetery Lane in Stockton. A 10 a.m. mass is planned on Friday, March 25 at St. Gertrude’s Catholic Church, 1663 E. Main St., followed by burial at San Joaquin Catholic Cemetery.