Vidal Garay

60, Los Angeles

At 5 feet 11 and just 150 pounds, Vidal Garay looked like he was all muscle when he was young.

“To me, he was like a superhero,” said Richard Garay, Vidal’s second son. He remembered his father telling him and his brothers never to be scared of chasing their dreams.

Born in the town of El Nayar in Mexico’s Nayarit state, Vidal Garay grew up poor on a ranch. He began working at age 5 or 6, collecting water from a river, grabbing satchels of corn and grinding it to make tortillas for dinner.

Garay immigrated to the United States when he was 14. He worked the fields, climbed power poles to fix cables, and finally arrived at QueensCare Health Centers in East Los Angeles as a security officer.

Richard remembered his father leaving in the morning before the sun was up. But he said Vidal Garay rarely spoke about how hard he worked.

After the family had dinner together, Garay would take a shower and grab his favorite Spanish- language newspaper, La Opinión. On his days off, Garay would kick his feet up, sitting on the porch with coffee and cigarette, and spend hours poring over the newspaper.

Garay was known as a “cool dad,” Richard said. He was lively, savoring Spanish corridos, and largely left the teenagers alone.

“My dad was strict, don’t get me wrong,” said Richard. “But he never judged us. He never got mad when we did something bad. He just guided us.”

Fishing was Garay’s favorite hobby. The family spent a lot of time fishing at the Redondo Beach Pier. He was also a good cook. Besides fish, he was known for his pork riblets in red salsa.

A romantic, Garay was open about emotions, writing letters to Norma, his wife of 34 years, and was never ashamed of hugging or kissing her in front of their children.

On May 29, Richard felt mild symptoms of COVID- 19, with a headache and a runny nose. He self- quarantined for four days at home and got a positive test result on June 4. On the same day, Vidal also tested positive after losing his sense of smell and taste.

The two spent days quarantining in the same room and briefly spoke about dying together. “If you go, then I’ll go,” Richard said his father told him.

Richard recovered. Vidal died June 20 at Los Angeles County- USC Medical Center. He was 60.

Richard said 28 extended family members, including him and his father, have tested positive for COVID- 19, most recovering at home, but they don’t know how they contracted the coronavirus.

Vidal Garay is survived by his wife, Norma; sons Juan, Richard and Benjamin; multiple siblings; and three grandchildren. Another granddaughter is expected to be born soon.