There was a time long ago when Luis, now 80, felt like a bit of an outsider. Born and raised in El Paso, Texas, with family from Tijuana, Mexico, Luis remembers getting held back because he couldn’t speak English well. But as he got to know some of the football players at school, he became a sort of mediator between the Mexican students and the white students. As a young man, Luis often got involved in fights, but also took up surfing, bridging both class and racial divides.
A life dedicated to others
Luis’ exposure to different cultures in the 1950s and ’60s set the stage for a lifetime of service and community leadership. For 16 years, he worked in the grocery business, moving up to manager and later running a store. He went on to organize the first food bank in San Diego, co-founded a self-sufficiency and economic development program, worked as executive director of the Chicano Federation of San Diego County, and served on city council for a decade, just to name a few ways he made a difference.
Through it all, Luis raised three daughters with his wife of 54 years, while mentoring countless individuals in National City, California, where he still lives.
“For Luis, activism has been a way of life,” said Roxanne, his oldest daughter’s best friend, who now rents a room in his home. “It’s just the person he is. He just kind of helps people wherever he goes.”
Even after his wife passed away in 2018, Luis continued to help others in any way he could. When Roxanne had a bad experience with a roommate and needed a different place to live, Luis let her move in. His two granddaughters also live with him in the same house where, for the past 45 years, every neighborhood kid has been welcome.
“He has treated me like family,” Roxanne continued. “He even insisted on making me soup when I had COVID. He will always put others above himself.”
A gradual slowing down
A two-time cancer survivor, Luis now deals with kidney failure due to ongoing cancer treatments. As a result, he receives kidney dialysis three times a week—a four-hour process that leaves him drained and unlike his usually active self. Even now, he brings fruit and treats for his nurses, and still volunteers on his non-dialysis days.
The hardest part of Luis’ medical challenges has been not getting to see his daughter Delaña, who lives in Hawaii with her family. Although they talk on the phone every day, constant medical appointments have kept him from traveling to see her. In addition, Luis was the victim of fraud, which robbed him of his retirement savings, leaving him on a very tight fixed income that doesn’t leave room for vacations.
Hawaii with help
When Roxanne learned it would be possible for Luis to receive dialysis treatments while in Hawaii, she nominated him, asking Wish of a Lifetime to fly Luis to see his daughter and gather with family one last time. We were honored to grant this wish for a man who has so selflessly served his community for nearly 60 years.
Luis traveled to Maui with his 18-year-old granddaughter as his companion to visit Delaña, his other grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. Other family members joined for the reunion as well. The group enjoyed going to the beach, whale watching, gathering for meals, and simply relaxing and enjoying one another’s company. On the way to dialysis, Luis got to see pineapple and sugar cane fields for the first time.
“Not only did I get to see everyone enjoy themselves, I got to see them interact with each other—laughing and going places,” Luis said after the trip. “I came back a different person.”
Thinking back to when his wife passed away, Luis recalled that he saw a butterfly in front of the house and commented that it was “Mama coming to check on me.” As the family walked across a bridge in Hawaii to take pictures, a butterfly circled around them. “It was incredible, I got chills,” Luis said. “Grandma was there.”
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