Apolonio Rios, long time resident of Oakley, California, passed away on February 7, 2021 at the age of 89. He raised a family with his wife Carolina Rios with whom he was married to for 60 years.
On August 2, 1931 Apolonio was born on a little ranch in McAllen, Texas where he was raised. He was the second youngest of 10 children. He loved riding horses, in which he became a skilled, knowledgeable horseman. Among his many qualities, a hard-worker would be one of the best to describe Apolonio.
As teenagers, Apolonio and his wife Carolina met while working in a Texas cotton field. They married and then decided to travel to Washington to work in the apple fields. Finally, on their way back to Texas, they decided to settle in Oakley, California where Carolina’s family, the Rosas’, resided. Carolina’s father, Jesus, told Apolonio that the steel mill in Pittsburg was hiring.
From that point, Apolonio began to work at U.S. Steel, in Pittsburg California where he worked for 37 years.
In addition to the steel mill, Apolonio also helped work in the fields at the local farms in Brentwood. During the spring and summer seasons after a full shift at the mill, he would prune and pick trees at the Sciortino farms. When he retired from the steel mill he continued to work for the Maggiore farms in the corn field until he was close to 80 years old.
Apolonio and Carolina raised a family of 9 children: Roy, Richard, Bertha, Estella, Raymond, Ruben, Monica, Sandy, and Evette. Each of their children raised families of their own locally in Oakley, Brentwood, Discovery Bay and Antioch. Together they had 23 grandchildren, 18 great grandchildren. He and Carolina attended Holy Rosary Church in Antioch.
In Apolonio’s retirement, you would catch him regularly sitting in his front yard drinking an ice cold Natural Light watching neighbors and still always lending a helping hand. He had a big heart and wanted to help any neighbor in need. He knew what it meant to be a hard worker. He was frequently found laughing while watching western movies. True to his Texas roots he was a proud Dallas Cowboys fan.
Laughing was his way of life; any serious moment would suddenly be disrupted by a silly comment and his infectious “Apolonio laugh”. All tension disappeared and laughter or eye rolls filled the room. He was always making his grandchildren laugh and was known to be heard singing and dancing along to his favorite local Latino station on the radio.
Covid-19 devastated Apolonio’s family as he was supposed to return home from the hospital. However, God had other plans and took him home with Carolina and their daughter, Sandy in Heaven.
RIOS FAMILY
*Roy (Barbara)
Alaina, David
*Richard (Leah)
Nicole (Kris) Natalie (Brandon)
Reid , Evan Kiley , Andrew
*Bertha Madrigal-Graves (Roger)
(Nick Madrigal) *Deceased
Amanda
*Estella Dejesus (Glenn)
Angelo (Kaylee) Anthony
Angelo Jr. Aubree
*Raymond (Paula)
Sarah (Jason) Elizabeth (Mike) Abigail (Cameron)
Joshua , Riley, Grace Brady, Finley
*Ruben (Sue)
Ashley April (Frankie)
Jace, Jesse Audrina, Ariano
*Monica Rios (Joey)
Marci Leticia (Jason) Olivia
Michael, Timmy, Diesel Aylssa
*Sandy Gasca (Deceased) (Tommy)
Thomas, Tereza, Marissa
*Evette Serrano (Jamie)
Vanessa, Nico, Savannah, Lukas
******Miss and love you so much Dad, Mom, Sandy and Nick******
Love the RIOS FAMILY
Written by Nicole Anderson and Amanda Madrigal
