Obituaries

My father, Jose Elias Leyba began his life on November 10th, 1957. He brought endless joy to his mother, Juanita, and his father, Lucio. My father grew up as the oldest of three children, and loved being the Big Brother to his brother, Javier and his sister, Jennifer. But to his joy he eventually got to be the big brother to a total of 4 sisters and 4 brothers that he all loved very dearly. He loved playing with all of his cousins and enjoyed visiting his grandmother regularly. At a young age he learned to appreciate having a big family and cherished the good times with them.

My father carried on that concept as an adult having seven children, six boys and one girl, and eight grandchildren whom he all loved dearly. He loved his children, and instilled in them a pride for their name and their family, to keep them strong even on the toughest days. He was always making jokes about more grandkids coming, and loved being a grandpa to so many, whether he was hugging everyone as they walked in, or watching television with them on his knee. He loved holidays because his home was full of family of all ages and celebrating birthdays as a big family surrounding the table. He enjoyed hearing about their accomplishments and always looked forward to the next big event.

My mom and dad actually met in third grade, although they didn’t realize it when they first met. She saw him again at nine years old, and he was climbing a tree with no leaves in front of his house. That was silly to her, because what was the point of climbing a tree with no leaves? The next time they saw each other, they were beginning a beautiful relationship as high school sweethearts. He surprised her by taking her school bus home one day, and after being married for the thirty-six years, the rest is history.

My father was a man who knew how to work. After high school and college, he went into the Navy, working on elevators as an electrician, traveling the world and appreciating everything he saw. As his family grew, he found a job with Pacific Bell, and stayed there his entire career. Some of my father’s best work was done as a volunteer basketball coach, learning everything he could from coaching with his family and friends. He coached his sons at OLR and taught basketball as well as life lessons to every child who walked in the door.

My father was a coach by instinct. He always knew the words you needed to hear, and always wanted to help people be the best they could be. He knew that we all had something to contribute and always pushed everyone to be the best they could be. My father had a saying that anything worth doing was worth doing right. He wanted to see his children, family and friends succeed at everything they wanted to accomplish and he was always there to help.

My dad loved people. If someone was over, he wanted to see them, and love to laugh with them all night. He knew the importance of people and so he surrounded himself with people he loved, trusted and cared about every single day. He loved to keep in touch and would be on Facebook all day. He could always be visited on Sunday mornings, watching his football with family, and trust me if you were there, you were family, but it was 49ers all day. He also loved to play Golf with his friends and collected golf balls from everywhere he played. He enjoyed playing fantasy football and talking smack with the best of us. In all, he was a man who lived his life as he hoped others would: enjoying every moment, and he wouldn’t have it any other way.

Visitation will be held on Friday, December 16th, from 5-8pm with a Vigil at 6:30pm at Fremont Memorial Chapel, 3723 Peralta Blvd., Fremont, CA 94536. Funeral Mass will be celebrated on Saturday, December 17th, 12pm at Our Lady of the Rosary Catholic Church, 703 C St., Union City, CA 94587.