Prudencio "Pro" Uranga

Lovingly surrounded by his family, our dear father passed away on March 20th after a long illness, at the age of 95. He started life so tiny a baby he could fit in a shoebox, and grew up in southwest Texas, the eldest of seven much-loved siblings. At the age of 20, when the US joined the Allies in WWII, Pro enlisted in the Army Air Force; it was 1942. He served as a medic in the Philippines, then New Guinea. After the war, he re-enlisted to serve in the Berlin Airlift, continuing enlistment during the Korean War. Soon after, Pro found a job at the Air National Guard in Hayward, California. He purchased a small house in San Lorenzo and persuaded his parents and siblings still in Texas, to come to California to live with him. In 1954 Pro was awarded the Soldier’s Medal because of his heroic action in a fuel truck fire incident on December 7th, 1953, where he risked life and limb by jumping into a burning fuel truck, which was at risk of exploding, to drive it away from fellow crew and nearby planes. Around this same time, Pro met and married his wife Betty, who’d recently moved to California from St. Louis, Missouri, and they began a family that grew to eight children. Pro and Betty shared a strong Catholic faith, and were long-time parishioners of St. Edward’s Catholic Church in Newark. In the early years of the parish, Pro was involved with getting the parish school established, where every one of his eight children attended through the eighth grade. Pro finally retired from his Air National Guard job and the 129th Rescue Wing in 1982, after 40 years of serving his country and the State of California. In his old age, after the loss of his wife Betty, he took great consolation and comfort from the steadfast attention of his many care-giving children, his loving grandchildren, his many dear relatives, neighbors, and family friends who visited him often, and his kind and loyal caregivers who were so supportive of him and his family. He is pre-deceased by his wife Betty, son Andrew, daughter Janet, and sisters Alejandra, Manuela, and Teresa. He is survived by his sisters Dora and Mary, his brother Gregory and wife Phyllis; his son Eric and wife Brenda; his daughters Cindy, Tina and husband Chris, Joyce and husband David, Sally and husband Chris, Eloise and husband Mark; his son-in-law Mike; his 13 grandchildren, 7 great grandchildren, and his many nieces and nephews.

Prudencio "Pro" Uranga

April 28, 1922 - March 20, 2018