Alvaro Gabriel Alvarez

Alvaro Gabriel Alvarez passed away at the age of 87, surrounded by family, on Saturday, October 26, 2024.

He was born in San Andrés de Sotavento, Colombia, on May 29, 1937. He came to the United States on August 2, 1968, seeking the American dream. He ended up in the Los Angeles Area and worked at different jobs, mostly in machinery. He met Maria Casillas while they both attended evening adult school, they fell in love and forgot all about classes, they later married on September 12, 1970. Together Alvaro and Maria worked effortlessly to support the family, which included his mother and his four children, which he brought from Colombia as well. They later added to the family with three children of their own.

The first home they bought on November 12, 1972 was purchased with a front house and rental property in the back area (unknowingly this was the beginning of their business as property owners). Overcoming life's struggles and Alvaro's medical issues, they started buying and selling produce eventually leading them into farm labor contractors in the Central Valley. This business meant lots of back and forth travels between Los Angeles and the Central Valley, leaving the children to be cared for by family, while they worked to support the family. Their goal was to be able to offer their children the opportunities they did not have available to them in their countries. After a while this work and travel proved to be a stressor on the family and the choice was made by Alvaro and Maria to move the family to the Central Valley, ending up in Porterville, CA on January 25, 1985.

At this point the older children were adults living on their own so it was just the three youngest children that came with them. Here they continued their business, they also established and operated a small packing house, saving the profits from both businesses and purchasing rental properties, one by one. Alvaro was an intelligent man, and with his wife backing him and contributing to the business, side by side they eventually left the produce/contracting business and focused on the properties.

As property owners/landlords they learned all about fixing and repairing all aspects of the rental properties on their own. There was not much Alvaro couldn't figure out how to do, and if he wasn't sure how to do it he would ask around or watch someone do it and then try on his own. He wasn't scared to take a stab at anything even if he messed up, because at that point he would chalk it up to a learning experience. He lead his life this way, always observing and learning and not looking back at mistakes but instead looking forward and moving on, no regrets.

Providing for his family was his pride, his love language some would say, and he was good at it. He was a smart, funny, hardworking, charismatic man who loved life and fought to hold on to it until his very last breath. Of the many things he taught his children, manners and work ethic were emphasized and expected. He insisted on greeting people, he would tell his children in Spanish "Lo cortés no quita lo valiente", basically meaning that politeness costs us nothing. He would also say that work was the only form of entertainment one could get paid for. In his later years, his most common response to the question "How are you today" would be, "I'm still kicking", and while he is no longer here to offer that response, we have no doubt that he is looking down on us, letting us know that his spirit and essence will live on with us, still kicking forever!

Alvaro leaves behind his wife of 54 years, Maria Alvarez; his children, Claudia (and husband Guy LePore), Angela (and husband Tony Maly), Alvaro R. Alvarez, Adriana (and husband Jorge Rivera), Gladys (and husband George Soto), Alberto Alvarez (and wife Josephine), and Marybel (and husband Benjamin Smith); 18 grandchildren (1 of which he helped raise like a daughter, Celeste Mesegue), and 18 great grandchildren.

A Visitation will be held at Myers Chapel in Porterville, California on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM. A Rosary will be held at Myers Chapel in Porterville, California on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at 6:00 PM. A Mass of Christian Burial will be held at St. Anne's Church in Porterville, California on Thursday, November 7, 2024 at 11:00 AM. Interment to be private.

To share a memory, or express condolences to the family, please visit the obituaries section of our website at www.myersfuneral.com/obituaries <http://www.myersfuneral.com/obituaries>. Myers Funeral Service & Crematory in Porterville is in charge of arrangements.