Matias Eloy Vecinais
Obituary
Our grandpa, Matias Eloy Vecinais "Popo," as we called him, age 83, was born on May 19, 1940, in San Marcos, Texas, to Dolores Rocha and Jesus Besinaiz. Popo attended school in San Marcos, Texas and Greenfield, Calif.. Our grandpa worked in agriculture, hauling lettuce, peppers, tomatoes and sugar beets in the Sacramento and Salinas Valley. He worked in the commercial driving industry as a semi-truck driver and also worked as a handyman.
Our grandpa's talents were many, he was extremely organized and kept a neat space. He loved reading, fishing, enjoyed watching Western TV shows, riding his bike and spending time on the road. But really, he enjoyed those westerns the most. Popo had the ability to recite some of those TV lines verbatim. Seriously, he'd play the Westerns channel every single day and night. There
wasn't an infomercial he did not like. Our grandpa often wrote down the 1-800 numbers and would hand them over to his daughter, Dolores, with a request for such items as hair growing shampoo to Coppertone socks.
Popo was also known for his great sense of humor and for having a heart of gold. He was extremely compassionate and was always willing to help people in need. Most of all, our grandpa was a great storyteller. He could retell each story so vividly that you could picture every last detail as he spoke. He never forgot the names of the individuals he went on adventures with. One of the memories that stands out was that of the family pet goat. You see, Popo would migrate from Texas to California with his maternal grandparents to follow the crops as many people have done. You have to step back in time to acknowledge the 1940's, a time when those multi state road trips took a few days to travel. On this particular trip west, the pet goat was also part of the cargo. On the second day of a long trip, our great-grandparents, Matias and Angelita Rocha, stopped for the night. As grandpa and his cousin played, his grandparents prepared dinner. This was way before fast food, drive-through orders, and yelping to find a favorite meal before your next stop. Needless to say, the next morning when they continued their trip out west, the goat was nowhere to be seen.
Our grandpa is preceded in death by his mother, Dolores Rocha Gonzales; father, Jesus Besinaiz; and his brother, Frank "Sonny" Rocha.
He leaves to cherish his memory by his wife of 49 years, Maria Antonia Besinaiz, of Greenfield; daughters, Corina Besinaiz and Rosemary Besinaiz of Folsom, Calif., Yolanda Besinaiz of Fresno, Calif., Erika (Martin) Argueta of Yuma, Ariz., Dolores (Jose) Rodriguez of Fremont, Calif.; and son, James Castillo of Soledad, Calif.; Grandchildren, Belinda Besinaiz of Greenfield, Martin Alejandro Argueta of Tucson, Ariz., Kassandra (Daniel) Carrazco and Eden Argueta of Yuma, Genevie Marie Patiño, Emma Isabella Rodriguez and Ariel Celeste Rodriguez of Fremont; Great-grandchildren Jeramiah Besinaiz of Milpitas, Calif., Alexia Del Real of Modesto, Calif., and Charlotte Carrazco of Yuma.
Pallbearers are Martin Arugeta Trujillo, Jose Rodriguez, James Castillo, Martin Alejandro Argueta, Daniel Carrazco and Michael Jacquez.
He will be deeply missed by his family, friends and all who knew him.
Published in Salinas Valley Tribune · June 22, 2023