Angel Gonzalez, a 43-year resident of Pacific Palisades, passed away just eight days after his 98th birthday. Angel was born on October 2, 1913 in Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico to Inocencio Gonzalez and Alejandra Mota. His mother died when he was 8, and he and two brothers, Teodoro and Gregorio, went to live with their beloved grandmother Trinidad Gonzalez Perete and aunt Susanna Gonzalez, who was a respected academic professor. During the hectic years of the Mexican Revolution, other young cousins became orphans, too. The revolution took a toll on many people, including Angel’s uncle, Lt. Col. Regino Gonzalez, who also left several children. One additional parent joined Trinidad and Susanna, who then raised 17 children. Angel and several cousins made their careers at the Nautical Academy in Mazatlan, and then later commanded several Mexican merchant ships, including oil tankers belonging to Petroleos Mexicanos. Angel met his beloved wife, Grace, at a Consulate’s Ball for the Mexican Armada in Los Angeles. They fell in love and were married on March 13, 1944, after receiving special permission from the Catholic Church to marry during Lent. Angel often said, ‘I traveled many seas and many ports and was always very lonely, but when I wed Grace, she presented me with so many babies that I was never lonely again.’ They had seven children. During World War II, the U.S. Coast Guard was astonished that Angel’s ship had arrived safely after traveling from Panama to New York City, because there were German submarines close to the East Coast. Aware of this danger, the ship’s commander had traveled further out at sea, with the lights off at night; the men slept with their life preservers and flashlights in anticipation of a surprise attack. Angel’s children say that he had nine lives, because when he was 18, the ship he was navigating was sideswiped by waves off the coast of Ense’ada and he spent several hours in shark-infested waters before being rescued by a passing American boat. In 1956, Angel stopped sailing to spend more time with his wife and children. His first ‘land’ job was as a building engineer for Orthopedic Hospital. He then worked at Mt. Sinai Hospital (now Cedars-Sinai), before becoming a building engineer for the City of Los Angeles for 20 years. The family moved to Pacific Palisades in 1968 and joined Corpus Christi Catholic Church, where Angel was an active parishioner. Most of Angel’s golden years were spent with family, friends, church members and the town people. He enjoyed many affections and expressed gratitude for everybody’s love and camaraderie. Survivors include Grace, his wife of 66 years; his daughters Norma Marrin (husband John), Maria Johnson (Dan), Rose Helen Moutes (John), her late twin sister Rose Linda Lombardo (Vincent) and Sylvia Gonzalez; and his sons Dr. Marc Stephen Gonzalez (wife Mary); and Mario Xavier Gonzalez. He leaves 16 grandchildren: Kristina, John, Daniel and Bridget Marrin; Amy (Dawson), Matthew and Nathan Johnson; Daria (Wiede) and Kevin Moutes; Michael, Anthony and Antoinette Lombardo; Richard and David Conti; and William and Alexandra Gonzalez. He also leaves 15 great-grandchildren.
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