Cruz Perez

Cruz Campos Perez was born May 3, 1934 to Ricardo M. Perez and Rita Campos in Clifton, AZ. He attended school in Clifton thru the 8th grade, later completing his GED. Cruz, along with his younger brother Pete were Alter Servers at Sacred Heart Church. He entered the military, joining the Air Force on May 7, 1952 and was medically retired on October 25, 1966. He was stationed at bases in Alaska, Korea, Texas and Arizona. During his tenure in the Air Force, Cruz met and married Dorothy Buttner and they became parents to five children; Patricia Ann, Rita Sue, Cecilia, Cruz Jr and Richard Phillip. They resided in Chandler & Tucson, AZ for several years. After his retirement from the military Cruz took his family back home to Clifton, AZ where he worked for many years as a construction foreman for Sundt, Stearns & Rogers and Western Construction. After he and Dorothy went their separate ways, he later went on to marry Rose Vasquez and became a step-father to her three sons; Mark, Joe & Alex. Cruz was a life-time member of the American Legion, Lloyd C. Hill Post #28 in Clifton. He served as Commander, Vice-Commander and Color-Guard. He was extremely proud to be a member of the American Legion and strongly supported many of the various functions sponsored by his Post. Cruz thoroughly enjoyed sports, especially football and wrestling. He loved attending all the football games and wrestling matches of his stepsons at Clifton High School and was a strong supporter of the Clifton Trojan Booster Club. Later on, he also followed his grandsons Jason and Brian when they played football for Clifton High School. He became a fan of basketball, volleyball and softball when his granddaughter Alexandra played for Clifton High School as well. But football and wrestling were his favorite and he was thrilled when his grandson Brian wrestled for Clifton during high school. Cruz was a parishioner at Sacred Heart Church in Clifton where he regularly attended Saturday afternoon masses. He resided in Loma Linda (a suburb of Clifton) for many years until his illness forced him to the VA Hospital in Tucson and subsequently into assisted care. He never returned home again and was residing at Casas Adobes Acute Care/Rehabilitation Home in Tucson when he passed away the evening of May 6, 2015. He had just celebrated his 81st birthday three days earlier. He is survived by his brother Pete Perez of Montebello, CA; all of his five children; two of his stepsons Mark and Alex and various nieces, nephews, cousins and good friends. He is also survived by nine grandchildren and fifteen great grandchildren. Cruz was preceded in death by his parents Ricardo & Rita, his brothers Joe, Bernadino, Nino, his sister Rebecca and his stepson Joe. In lieu of flowers the family requests donations be made to Sacred Heart Church. A viewing will be held on Saturday, May 16, 2015 at 9:30 a.m. with the Rosary being led at 10:00 a.m. and the Mass of Christian Burial starting at 11:00 a.m. at the Sacred Heart Church in Clifton. Interment will follow in the Sacred Heart Cemetery.