He was just about 17 when he married my grandmother, America, in Ecuador. She already had two sons, but he took care of them as his own. Together they had four more children.
Luis made the decision to move this family of 8 to New York in the early 1960's. They settled in Queens and squeezed into a one bedroom apartment. Both my grandparents set out to work and put their children through school. He worked as a carpenter and she worked in a sewing factory. If you asked him if he missed Ecuador, he'd say, "I like it here."
They were the typical immigrant family. Work work work, family family family, church church church. There was no need for anything else.
Providing a Home
Eventually, my Grandfather bought his first house in Woodside, Queens. It has 2 floors and they turned the attic into a full 3rd floor apartment. It's a big yellow house, with brick steps, large windows and a garden where he planted little trees and flowers and roses. And a great garage and work space in the back, for a man that loved to fix and build things. In every picture he took in front of his house, you could tell he was proud of his home.
My grandmother fondly recalls when he would meet her at the 61st train station and walk her safely home after work. When she was sick, he took care of her. When she needed something, he would do everything in his power to get it for her.
Jump to the 1980's and here's where I have my own memories of my grandfather. I wrote about my first memory previously as being the morning I woke up before the rest of my family and he sat me on his knee. He always hummed a tune that would put us to sleep (Ahsinaninanina, Ahsucasucasuca...).Owning and Maintaining a Car
One thing everyone knows about my grandpa is his love for big cars. First he had a big, old fashion, orange-ish farmer's truck. Next he bought a huge, white station wagon we called "Moby Dick." His last car was a large, luxury Dodge Ram, with a TV and VCR for us kids to enjoy as he drove us around...always taking the long way.
Anyone of those cars would still be around today if it weren't for the need to upgrade. We kept the Ram...the TV still works too!
Builds Stuff
He knew I loved to read. I had so may books that he built me a bookshelf of my very own to put them on display. Whenever I won an award at school, he'd make it a custom frame. When I wanted to skateboard like my cousin Omar, he fixed up a skateboard he found (it disappeared after I skinned my knees one too many times, however).
Takes Action
At 14, I spent half a winter season wearing a flimsy, blue-quilt jacket instead a good, warm coat. When I went to his house with just this jacket he drove me straight to Steinway and we went in and out of shops until I found a proper coat that I liked. I eventually chose a red hooded coat with barrel-hook buttons. I must've looked like little red riding hood, but he purchased it and promptly made me wear it.
One might think I was his favorite grandchild, but he did stuff like this with all his grandchildren! All 10 of us along with a whole lot of great-grandchildren!
No man is perfect. But there are a few that come close. My Grandfather, Luis, is one of the few and dying breed of true men. We lost him to cancer a year ago today, but his life, lessons, and love continue to make an impact in this world.
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