Remembering Jose Villalba-Lopez

July 22, 1958 - April 3, 2020

Jose was born on July 22nd, 1958 in Sinaloa, Mexico. He became a US citizen when he was just a teenager. As a young man he worked on various farms around the U.S. harvesting crops. He retained an abiding interest in plants and their care. Jose spent several years in Hawaii where he co-operated a restaurant with a friend and in 2005 he returned to the mainland.

He lived in Arizona and quickly ended up volunteering for the massive cleanup effort after Hurricane Katrina. When this work was over Jose decided to move to Washington state because he heard there was work in the Skagit Valley. He found his way to Anacortes and then to Guemes Island where he met his first friends in the area - Fred and his wife Sue. Jose often said that Fred "saved his life" by giving him work on his property. Jose lived in Anacortes with his friend Tony until his death on April 3rd, 2020.

Jose was loved by all who knew him. He was honest and kind to everyone and will be sorely missed. He is survived by a sister in southern California and many cousins in Mexico.

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