Louie Jose Chavez

Birth: December 15, 1932 | Died: May 11, 2023

On Thursday, 11 May 2023, Louie Jose Chavez, husband, father, and grandfather, passed away at the age of 90 years old.

Louie was born on Thursday, 15 December 1932 in Los Angeles, California. He had three siblings who all preceded him in death: an older half-sister, Maria Delia (1916-1983), a younger sister, Matilde Teresa (1938-1998), and a younger brother, Miguel Angel (1940-1991). These were the four children born to Luis Chavez of Mazatlán, Mexico, an upholsterer by trade, and Matilde Ruiz of Ures, Mexico, a homemaker. Maria Delia’s mother was Rosaura Sanchez of Mazatlán, Mexico.

After graduating from Fremont High School in Los Angeles—where he would meet his future spouse, Anna Theresa Peralta—Louie was called into service by the US Navy. After boot camp in San Diego, he was flown to the South Pacific to Kwajalein Atoll. After serving his country, he was Honorably Discharged in March 1954. In the years following his discharge, Louie would have many different jobs from plumber, to appliance repair, to becoming a Los Angeles Sheriffs Reserve Officer, eventually settling into his main trade of automobile repair.

Louie and Theresa’s families had a long history of being close friends. After high school, they didn’t see each other for many years. Then, in the late 1960s, Louie would see Theresa walking down one of the streets in Los Angeles with her mother. He stopped his car and got down to say hello and catch up. He asked her out on a date and eventually, on 24 May 1969, they were married at Saint Emydius Catholic Church in Lynwood, California.

They had their first child, Joseph Louis in April 1970. Theresa stayed home to raise him while by this time, Louie was the owner of Autotron Automotive in Lynwood. Five years later, they excitedly welcomed their second child, Analisa Christina, in 1975. In that same year, they moved their family from South Gate to La Palma, California and that is when they first made Saint Irenaeus Church their family’s parish home.

Louie would eventually sell his business and go to work for the State of California working for the Bureau of Automotive Repair as an investigator in 1987. He would eventually retire from this career in November 1999.

Louie was a Knight of Columbus for many years. He also served Saint Irenaeus Church as an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist, a H.O.P.E. volunteer, and had a great love and concern for the Presentation Sisters of the Blessed Virgin Mary. Louie and Theresa were both active in planning and organizing various events to support the Sisters’ retirement.

Louie’s family meant the world to him. He is survived by his children, Joseph Chavez and Analisa Chavez, and two grandsons, Jori Sebastian and Nicholas Joseph.