Robert Madrid

June 9, 1967 - December 8, 2022

SAN DIEGO — The family and many friends of Robert Madrid are devastated to announce, although possibly not accept, his passing of natural causes on Sunday, December 8. Robert, 54, was a lifelong resident of the county, having been born in 1967 to parents Robert, Sr and mother Yolanda. No one really knows how big he was at birth, but since he grew to 6 feet four inches and remained a formidable figure all his life, there are multiple estimates.

Robert was a graduate of Sweetwater High School and received an AA degree from Southwestern College in business administration. He put those educational

experiences to good use as the owner and operator of multiple automobile related business, most recently as the owner of Vintage Era Automobiles. His passion and specialty was the restoration of vintage cars or anything that wouldn’t start when the key was turned.

He was happiest when painting a car or driving one, the fastest he could get it to go. His passion was all things mechanical including dune buggying in the desert, going to car auctions, making a salvaged vehicle look like it just came off the assembly line, or parking so many cars on his 2 acre Bonita property that neighbors called zoning officials, which was often.

His greatest passion was his eight children and his understanding school teacher wife, Irma. She could never quite understand how he could fix all the cars in his life yet balk at repairing something as simple as a leaking kitchen faucet.

Robert was known to all as fearless at what ever life threw his way, loyal, ready to help anyone who needed it and devoted to anyone who treated him well. He was also known to fill up any room he entered, not necessarily because of his imposing size and booming voice, but because of his outsized charming personality. The real measure of a person is not so much what his individual friends think about him, but what his reputation is among those who come to know him over a lifetime. Robert’s reputation was outstanding for all the qualities that make a person stand out.

Robert is survived by his wife Irma, children Michael, Priscilla, Rene, Jason, Maya, Levi, Isaac and Christopher. He is also survived by his siblings Lydia and Benjamin, as well as his mother Yolanda.

Funeral arrangements are pending.

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