Joe Franklin Trujillo

Our Father/Grandfather, Joe Franklin Trujillo was born in Alamosa, CO to Rogerio Trujillo and Mary Climaca Marquez on August 16, 1939. He grew up in Alamosa with his mother but at the age of 2 his father died. When he was older, he joined the Navy for 4 years with an additional 4 years on reserves. He really enjoyed his time in the service while he got to see different parts of the world such as the Philippines, Hawaii and Korea. Frank (known by most of his family & friends) enjoyed drawing, painting, music and the great outdoors. He loved going camping & fishing with his children, grandchildren as well as his nieces & nephews. There are many happy memories with our Dad. On such trips he taught us how to start a fire, cast a fishing pole, gut & clean the fish, setting up a tent and campfire meals. One of our favorite things to enjoy with him was his camp side breakfast. Our dad had an amazing skill when it came to breakfast. It was his favorite meal of the day. He told us stories of him as a child hoping that his neighbor’s chickens would lay eggs close to the fence so he could reach under the fence and steal them for his mom to cook. During his time in the service, he met our mom/grandmother in California by way of his sister (Priscilla) and our mom’s brother (Ben) who were already married. While Frank was still serving in the Navy, he spent a year painting a portrait of our mother on silk fabric with the help of a man in the Philippines. On September 23, 1961, they married in a small ceremony with family. Not long after was the birth of our oldest sister Sandy Marie Trujillo (10/3/1962-5/17/2012) while they were living in California. A few years later they gave birth to our only brother Wayne Frank Trujillo (5/9/1966-). Eventually they moved to Colorado and 11 years later had their 3rd baby Penelope Francine Trujillo (Bird) (10/3/1977-). During this time Frank worked as a bus driver for RTD and did so for over 25 years. At the ages of 47 (Frank) & 42 (Mary) our folks gave birth to the last and youngest of our family, Stephanie Rae Trujillo (2/3/1986-). One year, one month and one day later the oldest daughter (Sandy) gave birth to our families first grandchild, Austin Daniel Trujillo (3/2/1987-). Six years later Sandy had a 2nd son named Zachery Antonio Alvarenga (2/13/1993-7/1/2020). Eventually our father took and early retirement from RTD for medical reasons and became a stay-at-home[pb1] dad. In the fall of 1995 our folks decided to move to Pueblo, CO. They lived in several houses in Pueblo but spent 15 years in their final home in Pueblo West, CO. For most of their lives together our father was part of the Jehovah’s Witness religion. He served in many of the congregations in Denver & Pueblo area as a “servant” and had the strength but not always the courage of giving public speeches. However, you would never know by watching him on stage. We had such admiration for him when he did this because it was one of the most difficult things in his mind to get through, but he was always so poised. After the death of our mom/grandmother we sold their home and moved Frank to Denver to be closer to his children and last grandson. He moved in with our sister Stephanie in September of 2020. He continued to drive himself to the gym, go grocery shopping, make his own meals and started dance lessons. During this time, he went to play pool with his son Wayne, took his daughters to 3 Margaritas & Torres Mexican Restaurant a lot so he could have a good margarita. We even got the chance to take him up to the mountains for 4th of July. In April 2021 his health took a turn for the worse and we almost lost him in May 2021. With advice from his doctors, we placed him in Hospice at the beginning of June 2021. Frank suffered from a failing liver & kidneys along with diabetes and COPD. Eventually we had to move him into a care facility as his needs required more then we could give him. On August 18, 2021 we got the call that he was struggling and I made my way to him to see what was happening. In the early morning at about 1:30am-2:30am he took his last breath and passed peacefully in his sleep. Our father lived a full life and made it to his 82nd birthday. One last memory of our father/grandfather about his love for breakfast. While serving in the Navy he would come back to California and would visit his sister Priscilla and her husband Ben. During these visits he noticed Uncle Ben eating breakfast that he made himself because Aunt Pressy (Priscilla) was sick. The meal consisted of a pancake, fried eggs and the whole thing smothered in green chili. My dad’s eyes lite up and he asked Uncle Ben what he was eating. After Frank tried it, he was hooked and eventually started calling it “THE BENJI SPEACIAL”. This little situation of a man making his own breakfast due to his wife not feeling well has led to a family tradition. Over the years there has come to be variations of this meal. However, the original idea came from Uncle Ben and was named by our father Frank. He would never ask for glory or praise, but I’d like to honor him with this little story and hope it makes you smile and think of our father/grandfather and his love of breakfast. He was meek, humble, patient and selfless which is what made him a wonderful father. He worked so hard to be a good man and we will always hold these and many more fond memories in our hearts. Thank You, The Trujillo Family Wayne, Penelope, Stephanie & Austin