Pete Gonzales

Pedro Gonzales, better known as Pete age 94 passed away January 16, 2026, at the VA Loma Linda Hospital. Several family members were present on the day he passed. Pete was born January 18, 1931, in Beeville Texas to Pedro Senior and Matiana Gonzales. He was the second eldest of ten children and grew up in small town Beeville. While attending middle school he joined the track team, but his passion was baseball. At 15 he dropped out of school, because he was compelled to join the military during World War II. Pete was so adamant and persisted that his parents agreed to sign an affidavit that he was born December 5, 1929, making him 17 years old. He enlisted in the Air Force December 27, 1946, he was 15 years old, a true patriot. He received an honorable discharge on December 3, 1949 and received a World War II Victory medal. In 1951 Pete met and married Minerva (Minnie) Rios in Beeville Texas. They had nine children, Viola, Pete III, Roland, Elizabeth, Patricia, Donna, Rene, Paul and Carrie. In 1958 with the encouragement of Pete’s sister Alma, it was decided to move to California in hopes for a better life for his children and job opportunities. He moved his family to San Bernardino and got a job in Barstow working at the Marine Corp Logistics Base in Warehouse. He commuted to Barstow everyday in a carpool and after three years of commuting decided to move his family to Barstow in 1961. In 1964 Pete was hired and began his career with the Barstow Unified School District. He was ultimately promoted to Supervisor in the Maintenance Department. In 1970 Pete received the “PTA Honorary Service Award” for outstanding service to children and youth in the community. For several years Pete coached Little League baseball and was one of the first Senior league Managers. Pete was an avid Dodger fan and never missed a game on TV. He could give a history lesson on each player. Pete never finished his education in Texas and enrolled in Barstow’s Adult Education and graduated in 1969. In 1987 he was awarded for Outstanding Supervisor for the summer youth program by San Bernardino County. On December 8, 1992, Pete retired from Barstow Unified School District. In March of 2002 Pete was remarried to Ilse Barton and lived at Silver Lakes in Helendale. In 2004 they moved back to Pete’s home town, Beeville to help care for his mother. After his mother passed at age 96, they moved to Las Vegas, Nevada and lived there until 2018. Pete and Ilse decided that Las Vegas was becoming too busy and hectic for them, so they moved to Bullhead City, Arizona. Shortly thereafter, Ilse passed away leaving Pete devastated. During their marriage they did a lot of traveling together from cruises to flying to Germany, Ilse’s birthplace. After Ilse’s death Pete decided to move back to California to be closer to his children, so in 2019 he moved to Apple Valley. He also lived with family members when it was becoming more difficult to care for himself. Pete always expressed how important his family was and how much he loved his kids. He loved family gatherings and barbeques. Pete is preceded in death by his wife Ilse Gonzales, daughter Carrie M. Gonzales, Pete Gonzales III, Rene M. Gonzales, parents Pedro Senior & Matiana Gonzales, brothers Tomas Gonzales, Lorenzo Gonzales, O.G Gonzales, Luis Gonzales, sisters Alma Flores & Gloria Hathaway. Pete is survived by daughter Viola Millner, son Roland Gonzales, daughter Elizabeth Dominguez, daughter Patricia Huggins, daughter Donna Delgado, son Paul Gonzales, brother Oliver Gonzales, sister Julia Wagner, Grandchildren Kristen Millner, Melissa Millner, Mallori Salazar, Marlene Gomez, Michelle Delgado, Roland (Bo) Gonzales, Andrea, April, Ryan Gonzales, Will Millner, Dannielle Horn, Vincent Dominguez, Michael Dominguez, Stephanie Garcia, Justin Gonzales, Vannessa Gonzales, Pete Gonzales IV Maddison Gonzales, Carson Gonzales, Zach Gonzales, Jason Gonzales & Thomas Gonzales several Great-Grandchildren and one Great-Great Grandchild.

Pete Gonzales

January 18, 1931 - January 16, 2026