Armando M. Ocana

Armando "Tony" Marcelino Ocana, 76, of Pueblo, Colorado, peacefully entered into Eternal Life on November 25, 2013. Husband of 55 years to Josephine Ocana; Father to three: Bernadette (Steve) Atencio, Glen (Sharon) Ocana, and Jeffrey (June) Ocana; Grandfather to nine: Antoinette, Zachary, Dominic, Jeffrey "Jay", Andre, Matthew, Marcelino, Greg, and Monique; Great-grandfather to eleven: Josiah, Bianca, Giovani, Evangelina, Brianna, Jazlyn, Serenity, Larry, Demarco, and Liliana; Brother to Mary (Gilbert) Lopez and Vicky Ocana. Tony is also survived by numerous nieces, nephews, other extended family and friends. Preceded in death by his parents Julian and Frances Ocana; brothers, Julian, Fred, Floyd, and Augustine Ocana.

Our dad Armando M. Ocana or as he was known by most "Tony" or "Chubby" was born in the small town of Antonito, Colorado at home March 23, 1937. He was a very hard worker from an early age up to the end of his life. He loved to sit us kids down and talk about the early days of working in the potato fields with his father and four brothers. Although he was to small to pick potates, at 9 yrs he was taken along to be the cook. His specialty was fried potatoes. He was no stranger to hard work and from then on he continued to be provider and caretaker of his family. That is why his patron saint is St. Joseph the worker and caretaker of the family because that is who he was. From a very early age, I remember many projects he took on, in addition to his daily job, to provide our family a little extra income. Before I Bernadette) was born, he moved my mother and I to California where I was born. While his job in California only provided enough to pay necessities, he went out and collected metal to recycle and buy Christmas dinner and a doll for me. From then on it was Christmas tree lots, Burglar alarms, and even a traveling catering truck called "Ocana's Mexican Food" which he built himself and because he thought my mothers mexican food was so terrific. Everybody knew about my mothers "green chile" and loved it. He was also an inventer and was always thinking of new things to invent. He thought of a way to heat outside swimming pools using a plastic covering, he thought of creating a potable air hose to use in emergencies when you had a flat tire and actually tried selling them at the stockshow. We even created a demo video to play on a TV which we kids were part of. There was no end to his thinking and having a background in concrete because he drove a concrete mixer for several years, he decided to go into business for himself and created "Ocana & Sons Concrete Foundations" pouring foundations for homes. My two brothers worked with him and I became his accountant doing payroll, tracking expenditures and doing year end taxes. That lasted until he was overrun by larger construction companies. After retiring from Mobil Premix Concrete Co., he wanted to provide my mother with a custom built home and took on the task of building his own home in Roxborough State Park. With the help of my brothers, he built the most beatiful home overlooking Chatfield State Park and downtown Denver. They lived there for several years and he decided he and my mother wanted a quiter atmosphere and decided to move to Pueblo, Colorado and with the help of my brothers, again built a second beautiful home in Pueblo West. This was their dream house and had everything they ever wanted including a huge yard where he planted his garden. For many years to come, he would plant lots of tomatoes, peppers, watermelon, cucumbers, and yes, lots and lots of jalapenos! Each year he spent coming to Denver bringing us all bags of his fresh vegetables. He cared for his garden each year and the grandkids loved picking the ripe vegies. Throughout my dads life he has taught his children many lessons including not to be afraid to work hard, never give up, provide for your family, keep the Catholic faith and always do things the right way instead of half fast. His favorite saying was "If you can't do something right don't do it all." Our dad loved the traditional catholic faith. He often spoke about it with all of his kids, friends and family. He was active in the church and his favorite activity was helping with our annual pilgrimage walk from our church in Watkins, CO to Mother Cabrini Shrine in Golden, CO. Although, he could not walk the trek, he knew even by helping the pilgrims, he could gain many graces and offered to be the "water boy". Year after year, he drove his truck filled with water and gatorade along side the pilgrims making stops along the way to hand out ice cold drinks to keep everyone hydraded. Along his side was my mother who waved at pilgrims as they walked by.

Our dad loved the mountains and one of his most favorite hobbies was paning for gold. He always had a huge interest in minerals and studied many books. He loved looking at maps and searching for the best places to pan for gold. He always spoke of finding a huge cache left by Spanish explorers in the southwest area of Colorado. He made several trips to the San Juan mountains looking for markers and testing mineral rock. One time he and our mother went exploring and was so taken by the environment, it got dark before they could get back to their truck. They ended up spending the night in the wilderness where he found a soft spot and covered he and our mother with branches to stay warm. The next day when the sun came up, they saw the truck in the distance not too far away. While he never was able to find his gold here on earth, I know he has now found it in heaven which is the only place we should be looking. Another lesson taught by my father. Rest in peace our daddy, we dearly miss you but take refuge that you took your flight to meet Jesus, our heavenly mother and your patron St. Joseph and we will carry on your legacy and many lessons you gave us from generation to generation. God Bless you Bernadette, Glen and Jeffrey.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made, in Tony's name to: St. Isidore Catholic Church, 32100 E. Colfax Ave., Watkins, CO 80137

The reception following the burial in the church parish hall.

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