Aug. 22, 1935 – Dec. 5, 2018
Watsonville
Beloved husband, father, and brother, Alfonso Enrique Arruiza (Al), 83, passed away at home surrounded by family after a courageous struggle with cancer.
Alfonso was born in Los Angeles to Santiago and Concha Moreno Arruiza. He spent his high school years attending a Catholic seminary intending to become a priest. Instead, he enlisted in the Air Force and was honorably discharged in 1962. Al graduated from Cal State Fullerton and began a career at IBM in San Jose managing the newly-formed EOP program.
Upon retiring, he met and married Sandra Wadhams of Watsonville. They spent much of their 13 years together traveling throughout the world. They loved exploring different cultures, eating good food, and shopping for that “great deal”. He became a Eucharist Minister and delivered the Eucharist to rest homes in the Watsonville area. He taught Accent Reduction classes to local priests who soon became close friends and fellow-seekers of “good food”.
Alfonso is survived by his wife Sandra, his daughters Ronda Hatcher (Gerry) and Jodi Lopez (Michael), his brothers Daniel Arruiza (Elizabeth) and Carlos Pailma (Theresa), his sisters Josefa Arruiza and Juanita Ryan (d.Patrick), his sister-in-law Ofelia Arruiza (d.Jimmie), and numerous nephews and nieces. He was preceded in death by his parents, his son Mark, and his brother Jimmie Arruiza.
A Celebration of Life will be held at 10am on Saturday, February 2, 2019, at Resurrection Catholic Church in Aptos.
