In loving memory of
Willie G Barreras
Born Febuary 10, 1928 San Marcial, New Mexico
Departed Albuquerque, New Mexico, September 20, 2001
to be with Jesus
My Dad
By Pete Barreras
My little sister, Barbara called me with the phone call I've been expecting and dreading. We all knew that Dad was very sick, and we wanted him to be comforted. It's our nature to hold on as long as we can. But then we start to realize and appreciate the man and his appreciation for life. My Father had a real sense of humor that had a tendency to test one. Barbara, my sister told me that he would torture the girls when Mom went into the grocery store. It wasn't so much that he was abusive, but he would tell these long tales. How many of you knew that my Dad was a bear hunter? Did you know that he once met up with a bear when he was completely unarmed? He put the bear in a headlock, rammed his fist down the bears throat as far as he could then turned the bear inside out! Really, he did. He was also an Indian. There were these huge mesas near Grants where he raised us. He told us that when he was an Indian, he would walk from one mesa to another on the backs of buffalo because there were so many buffalo that he would never step on the ground. You know that Roger Miller song, "You Can't Roller Skate In a Buffalo Herd?" He knew that! But you see Dad was not only a great Indian, he was also a pioneer. He told us about the great travels in covered wagons. At night he would listen to Glen Miller by the light of a Coleman lantern while getting ready to get some sleep under the covered wagon. It never dawned on us that electricity and radios were not around at the time. As a matter of fact, all his stories made perfectly good sense to us. And oh, by the way, did you know that he and Don Juan De' Onate traveled through Grants, New Mexico, stopped in at the Blue Spruce Inn, put a nickel in the juke box to listen to "Tequila" by the Ventures? I can still see that in my mind's eye. He even proved it when we went to El Morro National Monument and we saw Don Juan's name inscribed in the sandstone. How did Dad know so much? While his stories were not all historically correct, they had a bit of accuracy to them. You want to prove Dad wrong? Read about them. You see his humor had a purpose. We didn't know that either.
Those same stores that made my Dad such a great storyteller also made him sensitive to his kids. You see I saw the pain in his face when he learned that I was going to Viet Nam. I saw the pain in his eyes when he heard that my Brother Vivian had been injured in 'Nam. He loved us all and encouraged us to live our lives. OK, we made some mistakes, but he was always there to forgive us. You know the story in the Bible about a son that runs away from home then returns after failure and misfortune? When the wayward child returns he is met with a great celebration. It seems that my Father had the same great celebrations every time his kids came over.
Two things Dad absolutely loved music and western movies. I remember when I got my first saxophone; it came with the sheet music to "Stardust." I had never heard that song and I had yet to take a single lesson on the sax. As a matter of fact I didn't even know how to put the reed in the mouthpiece. That didn't deter Dad, he just whistled it. A couple of years later I used that exact same piece of music to take first place in an individual competition. You see Dad prepared us for success. He would always tell us that it didn't matter what we did, so long as we placed some commitment to it.
If my Dad could have been anything, it would have been a cowboy. He could have been a John Wayne and spent his time on the range with a horse, a pistol and his trusty radio listening to String of Pearls. It still makes perfectly good sense that his favorite songs were El Paso and Big Iron by Marty Robbins. I remember Dad loved Sundays in the '60s. He wouldn't leave the TV when Bonanza and Gunsmoke were on. I remember we would go shooting in the morning, after church. Then he would clean his guns about the same time Little Joe, Hoss and Matt Dillon were on. That was his Sunday Football. You see, it's a little odd that the night before he passed on we had a John Wayne movie in the VCR: but we didn't finish it. It made perfectly good sense to finish watching it when we learned that Dad had died.
All that aside there were few things Dad liked more than music and western movies: his kids and Grandkids. He loved them more than everything else. You could see it in his eyes and his manner. He was happiest when kids and grandkids came over. And he was saddened when they had to leave. In the end, they were his life. Of all the celebrations my Father enjoyed, none compared when a Grandchild arrived. He extended his joy when any of his daughters, Margaret, Barbara, Andra or Angel presented him with a Grandchild. It was as his heart soared with joy. If one learned nothing else from Dad, one learned that family was of the most importance. How he loved being surrounded by his family. He radiated with joy. He loved us all and encouraged us to live our lives.
When I heard of his passing my thoughts turned immediately to my Mother. She was with him throughout a long illness. She never faltered and balanced Dad's affairs and kept the family together throughout. Even then, Dad's humor would not be suppressed. I remember Dad was being mischievous once and Mom gave him one of those looks. She then started to mock a scolding while he got that sheepish look about him. No matter the seriousness of the scolding, after fifty-four years of marriage their love shone though. Now things change. We've never lived without the Dad part of Mom & Dad. It's like one has to exist with the other. Now, Mom, you are the comfort we seek and we need you to keep us focused. You told me he is in a place where he is in comfort and peace. There was never a doubt that my Dad would go to heaven in the hands of the Almighty. Gone now to join Grandpa and Grandma. Now we must continue to hold on to each other, appreciate our circumstances and keep the family going. Dad would have asked us to continue and not be afraid.
Well, he's gone now, and we mourn his passing. We wanted him to stay; it's our nature to hold on to those we love as long as we can. Well, as of today we will keep him nearer than we ever could before. You see, yesterday we kept him in our arms; as of today we keep him in our hearts. For the rest of my life I will keep him there: we just didn't know it would be so painful to do so. We loved that man as our Father and Friend. We have never known life without him. I didn't know how precious that gift was. There is a Country & Western song about a Father's Love. It's true there is the love from a friend, the love from a spouse . . . then there is a Father's Love.
