Carlos Mendoza

In loving memory of Carlos M. Mendoza, 86, who passed away at home in Buffalo, December 19, (a medical event having apparently occurred as he slept). Beloved husband, Dad, dad-in-law, granddad, brother, and friend, he is missed. Preceded in death by daughter, Rhonda. Survived by his beloved wife of 65 years, Julia (originally of Savannah, GA); daughter, Alona; son, Carlos Jr. (Kris); grandsons Matthew (Hayley), and Michael; granddaughter, Olivia; sister, Sonia Jordan; and nieces and nephews. 

Born in May of 1939, in Cayey, Puerto Rico (Borinquen), where his dad was mayor, he came to the mainland (the States) after graduating high school. He joined the U.S. Air Force. His loving Mom was a seamstress. He discovered that many people here don't realize that those born in Puerto Rico are American citizens. He resided in the States for the rest of his life, but Puerto Rico remained in his heart and soul. Raised bilingual with English and Spanish in school, with mostly Spanish at home, he had a more extensive English vocabulary than most people born and raised in the States who speak only English.

As a young man, he was co-owner of a dance studio where he taught ballroom dance; singer and guitarist in the band Los Continentales (The Continentals); DJ of a music program on radio. He was certified as a union steward/officer; worked at General Electric; was a volunteer community organizer and advocate, at one point being second Vice President of Legal Aid; a co-founder of Spanish Action League (for which he received the Founder Award 25 years later for his "vision and commitment"), he was elected its president, and served on its Board of Directors. In 1991, he received a Certificate of Appreciation from the Erie County Sheriff's Dept for "outstanding contributions to law enforcement, to the community, and to the Erie County Sheriff's Department." He specialized in audio-visual, and telecommunications; was Associate Professor of TV production at Erie Community College; Director of TV Studios at Canisius University (at the time, Canisius College), where he served for 20 years; Producer of two local TV shows; retired from CM Communications company (of Buffalo).

He loved his family. He loved each of his grandchildren & shared some interests with them such as gardening, golf, & guitar, etc. One thing he and his wife enjoyed was 'The Andy Griffith Show,' which was sentimental to them because they had enjoyed the series as twenty-somethings, living in a small town. One of his favorite things in life was his wife's kisses, as mentioned in their song, 'Twilight Time,' by The Platters: "...your kiss will thrill me like days of old..." He could be the life of the party, but he was a man of deep heart and soul. He and his wife wanted to teach their children to have a pure heart. For his part, (for one thing), he taught them that true wealth is not in money. His dad had known a life of wealth, but then, later, had less (or much less) material abundance. His dad taught him that, because they had plentiful food, had home, family, love, and friends, that, in that way, they were rich. His dad modeled for him a true interest in helping people. He learned to speak up about bigotry, and prejudice against the poor, and he was against endangering the vulnerable or allowing them to be in misery for the sake of tax cuts for the wealthy. He also believed that, in a country where citizens elect the government, citizens have a responsibility to try to know important things the government is doing because it does those things in their name. He served honorably in the U.S. Air Force. Later, he occasionally reminded people that former WWII General, President Eisenhower, had warned us about "the military-industrial complex," which Eisenhower said endangers "liberties or democratic processes" unless there's "an alert and knowledgeable citizenry..." His wife has said, "He wanted to take in knowledge...(and) was one of the smartest guys I ever knew in life." His daughter says, "He was the most honest person I've ever known." In 1979, the Buffalo News did an article on him titled 'Just Can't Resist Helping Others,' in which he indicated he liked "doing something useful for people."

He enjoyed taking photos and had an artist's eye for photography. He also loved Pablo Neruda poetry, and poetry by Dr. Gunilla Kester, a friend. She composed a poem dedicated to him, 'Fall Harvest,' with lines about him (in her book 'If I Were More Like Myself'). He loved vegetable gardening, and cooking for family (various things, from main dishes to delicious pickles made as gifts, which family would ask for). He designed and painted unique walking sticks as gifts for hiking, especially for grandkids. He loved birdwatching, camping, fishing, archery (for which he once won an award), golf, chess, and dogs. At home, he loved playing guitar, whether classical music or the old songs of Puerto Rico, sometimes singing. That live music was the soundtrack of his family's life at home. He enjoyed accompanying his grandson, Matthew, at Matt's guitar recital. Later, a highlight was when he played at Albright Knox Art Gallery, accompanying his grandson, Michael, (a classical guitarist). Michael composed a piece for him (for his granddad/abuelo), titled 'Para Mi Abuelo,' and in return, he composed one for Michael. He also enjoyed his time in a classical guitar ensemble. He served on the Board of Directors of the Buffalo Guitar Society. One thrill for him was meeting and getting to know some of the world's best classical guitarists and composers, including Leo Brouwer, Luis Zea, and Roland Dyens. He loved physics, electronics, science fiction, nature, Chinese food, Puerto Rican food, coconut ice cream, books, The History Channel, and The Science Channel. An independent thinker, he had the self-confidence and courage to speak his mind if he thought something was important. He had an open mind about mysteries and unusual possibilities, which, for ex., made him a fan of 'The Secret of Skinwalker Ranch' investigative TV series. The two dramatic TV series he loved enough to binge-watch were NCIS (the original), and Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Because he passed away unexpectedly, less than a week before Christmas, his wife and daughter will forever be glad they gave one of his gifts to him weeks ahead of time, the exact kind of slippers he wanted that he had described to his daughter, which he loved and was able to enjoy for weeks. He had always thought there was a spirit reality to existence, and within the last decade of his life, he said, "I choose Jesus (Yeshua)." After this, having previously struggled with occasional anger for years, (which could at times be tough for some of his family), he became again someone of patience, gentleness, and peacefulness. This brought sweet years of love and laughter to his home life that his wife and daughter will cherish forever! He was grateful for his blessings. For most of his life, to be happy, he had to be going 'out and about' much of the time. However, in recent years, although still relatively active, he came to appreciate being home and would often say upon returning home, walking in the front door, "It's so good to be home!" His wife and daughter have reason to think he's at his true home now, Heaven, and that, upon arriving there, he felt the same way, so often expressed by him, "It's so good to be home!" His family hopes to plan a combination memorial and celebration of life for late spring.