Tag Archives: Belarmino T. Diaz

Happy Birthday, Tio Mino!

Family,

Today, February 7, 2020, is my late uncle Belarmino Diaz’s 101st birthday. (02/07/1919-06/16/2005). He was born in 1919 in Ray, Arizona if I’m not mistaken (could’ve been somewhere in the Verde Valley), and was closest in age to my dad, who was born the following year in Jerome, Az.

Camp Verde, Az, schoolchildren, mid 1920s. Uncle Mino is in the bottom row in the middle. My father, Alfredo is to his left.
My dad’s family, Superior, Az. (late 30s or early 40s). Uncle Mino is in the back, between my Uncle Raul and my dad.
Uncle Mino is third fom the left, flanked by my father Alfredo and my uncle Val. A cousin named Serino is on the far left. This photo was likely taken in the early 1940s in Superior, Az.

I remember my uncle well, although I never spent a lot of time around him, at least not as much as my other uncles. He was probably the quietest of all the siblings in my dad’s family. He was a World War II veteran and served in the US Army. He and his wife Eva, whom he married in 1944, settled in Phoenix and lived there the rest of their lives.

Uncle Mino and his wife Eva Delgado.

They had three children, Belarmino Jr., James, and Helen. At the time of my aunt’s death in 2003, they also had 7 grandchildren and 5 great grandchildren.

The only times I ever saw Tio Mino and his family were when we had big family gatherings in Superior, Oracle or Tucson. The above photo was taken in 2007 at one such gathering, our second family reunion. Below is a photo of another such event, back in the early 60s in Superior. Uncle Mino is seated on the far right.

At a family gathering in Superior, early 60s.
Uncle Mino is in the middle. He’s wearing glasses. This was taken in the 1970s sometime.
Uncle Mino and Aunt Eva
At the Diaz Family Reunion, 1993
Tia Eva’s obituary

My cousin Helen Molina, tio Mino’s daughter, wrote a beautiful tribute to her dad and mom in the book “Diaz Family, Spain to America: A Story of An American Family”. (It’s available for sale at lulu.com). She shares a lot of details about my tio that are quite interesting, including the fact that he was a male nurse in the Army and that he sailed home from Europe on the Queen Mary after the war.

Tio Mino’s Obituary, Arizona Republic, June 22, 2005
Some of my uncle Mino’s children and grandchilren. Helen is seated in the middle and Jimmy is to her right. At the Diaz Familly Reunion, 2007

I sure miss my tios and my dad. These family gatherings were some of the happiest times of my childhood. Aunt Helen and Carmen are still with us. The rest have all passed, but their memory lives on! Que viva la Famila Diaz de Supirio, Arizona!