Daily Archives: March 11, 2020

Happy Birthday, Uncle Val!

Family

Today is my Uncle Val’s birthday. He was born on March 11, 1917 in Sonora, Arizona on this day back in 1917. He moved from Superior Az to California in the 1940s with his wife Vera, and he lived there with her until his death in 1998. I remember we took a family vacation back in 1966 and visited him and Uncle Failo and their families. He and my dad got along very well and were always glad to see eachother. I took my dad to visit again in 1982. Uncle Val and Aunt Vera would come to our family gatherings all the time too. He sure was a character! Many of the photos and the stories below were borrowed from my Aunt Josie’s book on the Diaz Family.

This photo was taken in 1966 in Culver City. On the far left are Aurelio and his wife Bisi, Aunt Vera’s sister. Next are my mom and dad, and on the right are my Uncle Val and Aunt Vera.
Aunt Vera and Uncle Val.
Uncle Val, some time in the 1970s.
Uncle Val’s family at our family reunion in Tucson in 1993
Uncle Val’s family at the next reunion in 2007. Seated on the far right is my cousin Natalie, who just won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize for Poetry.
This was taken in 1977 at my brother Fred’s wedding.