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Light a Candle
In remembrance of Frank Caballero, the loving son of Francisco and Ofelia Caballero who came to this country from the small town of Acuitzeramo in the Mexican state of Michoacan. Frank was born in the City of Orange, the third of four children and the first-born son. He grew up in the tightly knit community of El Modena in Orange, where as a teenager he helped out at Caballero's Produce Market, the popular neighborhood convenience store owned and operated by his family for many years on Chapman Avenue. Frank attended Propect Elementary, McPherson Junior High and El Modena High School. He loved to play soccer and was so committed to studying martial arts that he earned his 3rd Degree Black Belt on the very day he turned 20.
Three days after Christmas in 1998, Frank took a job with Ingram Micro, the world's largest wholesale distributor technology and mobility products from leading companies such as Apple, Cisco, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Microsoft and Samsung. He would stay with the company for the next 15 years, learning all aspects of the large warhouse operation, based primarily in Mira Loma. Frank was a hard worker, driven to succeed at any task. He had worked a weekend swing shift as usual and was headed home on the I-15 in Corona when his cherished Jeep Grand Cherokee was involved in a collision and forced off the steep freeway embankment. Frank was ejected and died at the scene in the early hours of Sunday, Nov. 3. He was 40.
His loss was made even more tragic because he was still in the prime of his life. Frank had a passion for running and twice completed the Los Angeles Marathon, in 2002 and 2003. He remained a loyal son, helping his parents as they entered their twilight years. For Frank, dressing well was a hobby, and he kept his wardrobe in impeccable order, his suits hanging in garment bags and his collection of shoes in their original boxes. He also loved music, from The Doors and Depeche Mode to Javier Solis and Jose Alfredo Jimenez. He could belt out a mariachi tune with a surprisingly powerful amateur voice. In recent years, Frank lived in Lake Elsinore with his beloved dog Coco who is obviously missing her master.
Frank will be dearly missed by all his friends and extended family, inlcuding many, many cousins from the old neighborhood. In addition to his parents, he is survived by his older sisters, Rosario Caballero Duardo and Rosa Caballero Gurza, and his younger brother, Liberato.
Frank will receive the final sacrament in the same place where he received his first. Services will be held at La Purisima Catholic Church in Orange, where as a child he was baptized and made his First Communion.
May God bless him and rest his soul.
Que en paz descance.
