Jesus Castillo GomezOxnard, CAOur Dad/Papa, Jesus Castillo Gomez, 92, was a real fighter. He had many battles in his lifetime, including Alzheimer's, but on January 12, 2017, with family by his side, he surrendered peacefully. He was born on April 22, 1924 in Zacatecas, Mexico and came to the U.S. as an infant with his parents, Antonio and Teresa. He was the eldest of 9 children and as such was taught responsibility and the importance of family. His Dad taught him how to read when he was 4 and told him he was responsible for teaching his brother. As a child he met someone who introduced him to model airplanes. Both became things he loved.Shortly after high school he was drafted into the military. Although he was not a U.S. citizen, he reported for duty in January of 1943. He had wanted to become a pilot but because of his citizenship status, he was ineligible. He had served a little over two years when he was given an Honorable Discharge. While he was still enlisted, he was offered the opportunity to become a U.S. citizen and he took it. Although he never really shared everything that had happened when he was in the service, he was proud to have done "His Duty". He was proud to have been a WWII veteran, in a family where all 8 Gomez boys served this country. He attended Cal-Poly, San Luis Obispo where he studied Aeronautical Engineering. Upon graduation he was hired by Lockheed. He liked to share the fact that he was hired because Cal-Poly knew how to train their students. He worked there for over 20 years when the industry slowed down. When the industry picked back up, he went to work for Rockwell, occasionally being lent to Lockheed. If he called you for your social security number, you knew he was working on another High Security project. He always said you were lucky if you had a job you truly enjoyed. He liked his so much that he put off retirement by about 5 years because he was "just going to finish this one last project". He had a very strong work ethic and he passed that on to us.He tried doing many things in his life. Flying(found he wasn't comfortable, as he had a hard time hearing the control tower), playing the guitar, painting,drawing, baseball, etc. None were pursued the way he did golf. If you knew him, you know how he felt about golf. When he retired, he would golf at least 5 days a week. In 1997, he suffered a brain aneurysm and his biggest concern was a golf tournament he was scheduled to play in! He offered to buy lessons for anyone interested. He loved playing golf with his sons, grandsons, brother, nephews, granddaughters. He belonged to two golfing groups and took several trips overseas just to golf. He had made 5 documented "Hole in ones" and up until the last few years, he could tell you where and when he made them. He was 90 years old when he played his last round of golf with his brother, Joe.He had his share of tragedies. He lost his first born, Kathleen to an illness(which explained the panic when one of us got sick). He would tell you he was a three time widower. Cecelia(Martinez) and a baby girl in a car accident, Mary(Ament) in a car accident, and Alwayne/Annie(Blair) to cancer. He had strength and courage.Grandchildren brought out the cheerleader in him, not to mention the occasional babysitter(he didn't do babies!) and chauffeur. Depending on the season you could find him on the soccer/softball/football/baseball fields, not to mention bowling alleys, classrooms, and auditoriums. Saturdays he might have attended 2 or 3 events. Even went to Texas to see some granddaughters play in a tournament. Continued to watch them play even as they became adults. Go Papa!He loved family gatherings. Whether it was a wedding, a birthday party, "Brother's breakfast", or Sunday dinner. He wanted to go and he wanted you to go too. We had a lot of dinners at Yolanda's(on Victoria) and Roxbury's. Thanks to everyone at those places for making "Jesse" feel like family. He felt nothing was more important than family. He had time to tell stories after he retired. He would talk about his parents and how much he admired them. He shared stories about his siblings, his schooling, his life experiences. He talked about people he worked with, who he thought was smart (we thought he was the smartest) or generous. Over the last few years, Alzheimer's took that away. Occasionally you could catch a glimpse of him, the way he used to be. And then he left us quietly.Left behind to miss him greatly are his children: Yolanda (Steve)Marsh, Anthony Gomez, Deborah(Wayne)Reeves, Maria(Harold)Kays, Patricia(Michael)Wiese, and Vincent(Juliet)Gomez.Grandkids: Quentin, Megan, and Travis(Kris)Marsh; Stephanie, Natasha, and Justin Reeves; Christina(David)Black, Angelina, Dominique, and Karina Kays; Mary Elizabeth Gomez, Amy(Trevor)Swart, Mike(Nickki), James(Brittney), and Brittany Wiese; Jacob and Jessie Gomez.Great-grandchildren: Jenasis, Malia, Liam, Cheyenne, Amara, Leon, Victoria, Derek, Jordan, Adam, Landon, Owen, Sean, Maya, and Noah. Siblings: Esther Harrietha, Angel(Lucy), Genaro(Virginia), Chon(Jo), John(Bernice), Joseph and Manuel Gomez. (Brother Alvino/Mino passed away last year).And of course, Daniel, Pedro, and Pernell, as well as extended family and friends.We would like to thank "his new family" at Seabreeze Manor for their excellent care of our Dad. We'd also like to thank the staff at Maywood for the care they provided for him during his stay there. Knowing that Carmen Gomez worked there immediately put our minds at ease. In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the . , or in memory of my Dad, take someone you love out to breakfast.Recitation of the Rosary will begin at 9:30 a.m., Friday January 20th in Santa Clara Catholic Church, 323 South "E" St, Oxnard. Celebration of the Mass will be at 10:00 a.m. also in the Church. Inurnment will immediately follow services in Santa Clara Catholic Cemetery, 2370 North "H" St. Arrangements have been Entrusted to the Care of Otto & Son's, Camino del Sol Funeral Home 200 North C Street, Oxnard, CA 93030 (805) 483-3443