Pedro Valenzuela

Pedro Valenzuela was born on June 29, 1925 to Gregorio Valenzuela Tiscareno and Maria Gertrudis Salazar in Jalpa, Zacatecas, Mexico. Pedro was sixth among thirteen siblings. At the age of 17, he left his home and immigrated to the United States of America. In 1953, Pedro returned to his hometown of Jalpa and married Amparo Pereyra Nieves. Over the next several years, he traveled extensively between Jalpa and Southern California with his family and ultimately resided in Eagle Rock, California in 1970. During this time he fathered seven children: Maria, Ruben, Raquel, Theresa, Pedro Jr., Juan and Alicia. Pedro was a member of the steelworkers union for many years and worked in manufacturing steel products. In June 1987 he began a well-deserved retirement and he and Amparo moved to Palmdale, California. Even in his retirement, Pedro continued to keep himself busy. He liked to spend time maintaining his beautiful garden and remained an active member of St. Mary’s Catholic Church. Religion has always remained an important part in Pedro’s life. In addition to attending mass regularly, Pedro composed religious music, performed in the church choir and crafted rosaries by hand which were sent to needy parishes and missions throughout the world. He is survived by his wife, seven children, twenty-one grandchildren and nine great-grandchildren. An extraordinary patriarch who loved God and worked hard to provide for his family will be greatly missed by his family and friends.  A visitation will be held from 3pm to 7pm with a vigil service at 6pm on Friday, August 24, 2018 at Chapel of the Valley Mortuary in Palmdale, CA.  The funeral mass will be held at 10am Tuesday, August 28, 2018 at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Palmdale, CA with interment to follow at Good Shepherd Catholic Cemetery in Lancaster, CA.