Friday, April 19, 2024
Joe was born Aug. 16, 1959, and raised in Oxnard, CA. In 1981 he married his love, Lisa Perez Zarate, also born in Oxnard. In 1989, he and Lisa moved with their young boys to Washington state in search for a better life for their growing family.
Through a firm decision to have faith in God that there was something better, Joe was able to stay free from the addiction and poverty that held grips on much of his family at the time.
In Washington, he enjoyed raising a beautiful family of four boys, Aaron, Jacob, Matthew and Nathan, and made his dream a reality of starting his own business DAD’Z ELECTRIC.
With a deep sense of love, Joe coached many of his boys’ sports teams when they were young and continued to be a constant source of support into their adult lives.
On February 24, Joe passed due to complications of the flu. He took his final breaths surrounded by the fruits of his love: his wife Lisa, his three surviving sons with their wives, his brother and sister in law and two grandchildren.
His extraordinary sense of humor and deep-set value of family survive in the memories of everyone who met him. Through his courage and dedication, Joe demonstrated his love on a deeper level when in 2006, Joe and his family suffered the devastating loss of their first born, Aaron, in a motorcycle accident 4 days after his 22nd birthday.
During this time Joe continued to be the strong pillar that his family needed to begin their lives anew. In 2006, in honor of their son, the family established a scholarship fund to have a place to pour their love they continue to feel for their son. It is with the same sense of love that gave rise to the scholarship, that we open donations in memory of Joe.
Because Joe overcame many difficulties by way of his work ethic and as a man who knew what it meant to earn a better life, the scholarship has, and continues to reward the efforts of those willing to work their way into a better life.
To support this noble cause and honor the life of Joe, donations are being accepted at any Bank of America, through the scholarship website, or by check made out to: Aaron Joseph Zarate Memorial Fund. www.aaronzaratescholarship.com
