Obituary of Leobardo Peralta

Leobardo Esteban "Leo" Peralta Perez, age 91, passed away on April 22, 2020. Leo is survived by his wife Alicia Peralta and five children, Emma and her husband William, Steven and his wife Mary, Rocio and her husband Mark, Leslie and her husband Jonathan, Sylvia, who has lived with her beloved parents and taken care of them in their old age, and seven grandchildren. He was predeceased by his parents Jose Maria Peralta and Aurelia Perez, his six brothers Alfonso, Gonzalo, Teodulo, Delfino, Angel and Meliton, and his sister Ofelia.

Leo was born in Mexico and married Alicia in January 1958. Along with two of his brothers, Meliton and Delfino, he immigrated to the United States and resided in Brooklyn, New York for 60 years. He was a hardworking man who worked from the age of fourteen until the day he retired. In Mexico, he was a fare collector on buses that traveled to small towns in his home state of Puebla. In the United States, he worked picking cotton under the Bracero Program. He later worked as a store clerk in a grocery store on Kings Highway, for over 20 years, six days a week. On his day off he did side jobs such as driving patrons of the grocery store to their summer homes in the Catskills. If he was not working, he took the family to parks around the city or to Spanish Harlem to buy blood sausage or to Delancey Street to buy dilled pickles from wood barrels. He loved eating local food and whenever he told stories about his life it always included memories of his favorite foods.

Leo will be remembered as a devoted and caring husband and father who truly loved his family, extended family and many friends. He enjoyed traveling back to his home country. All of his children cherish memories of several road trips to Mexico. He packed the car with the family and drove 5200 miles (roundtrip) in a Chevy station wagon without air conditioning. The family car was purchased for the purpose of making these trips. He would forgo taking a vacation some years so he could take four weeks off from work. On these trips, two weeks were spent on the road and two weeks were spent going from house to house visiting relatives.

In his quiet, unassuming way he took pride in all his family, in particular his grandchildren. His grandchildren will remember their "Abuelo" as a kind and gentle man who doted on them. Some of the grandchildren had the privilege of being cared for by Abuelo as babies and toddlers. He would say with a big smile that he learned to change diapers when he had grandchildren.

In addition to family, Leo loved watching baseball and football. He was fortunate to attend many a Yankee game in the Bronx with his son-in-law Mark and grandson Andrew. His favorite possessions were his collection of sport caps of his favorite teams and his grandchildren's colleges. Everyone loved to buy him a cap whenever they traveled somewhere, and he made an effort to wear them all.

Dear Pa/Abuelo, we will always remember that gentle smile of yours and you in one of your favorite caps. We were blessed to have you in our life. We thank you for your love and all your hard work to care for us in the best way you knew how. We know you are now in the loving arms of our Lord, Jesus.

There will be a memorial service at Our Lady Help of Christians when possible.