UFW mourns the passing of Ramon Gonzalez:
The Forty Acres was his life
Veteran farm worker movement activist Ramon Gonzalez passed away one day after he would have been honored before hundreds of people at the Forty Acres for decades of dedication to the farm labor movement and its 40-acre complex just west of Delano. Ramon and his wife, Antonia, who was longtime manager of the Paulo Agbayani Retirement Village, were to receive an award during the festivities on Saturday marking the village’s 40th anniversary at the Forty Acres, which Ramon lovingly maintained for years. But he was hospitalized that day and died the next day.
Born in the Mexican state of Jalisco in 1934, Ramon never attended school and immigrated with his family to Texas in 1946, to work in farm labor. The Gonzalezes migrated to the Delano area in 1961, where they also worked in the fields. Ramon married, had six children and was later divorced. For a time, he was a single father.
Ramon began his activism with Cesar Chavez and the farm worker movement, and started working at the Forty Acres in 1969, when it became the United Farm Workers’ headquarters. Ramon participated over the years in many historic milestones that occurred there, including strike rallies, marches, boycotts and fasts. “He was involved in everything that was happening there,” recalled Ramon’s son, Javier Gonzalez.
The entire Gonzalez family moved to Miami, Florida in 1972, to help organize the UFW’s boycott of non-union lettuce and later grapes and Gallo wines. They spread the word about the farm workers’ plight in California, organized supporters to join them in picketing supermarkets and staged fundraisers. The family returned to Delano in 1975, after the boycott pressured growers to agree to passage of California’s historic farm labor law that year and Chavez shut down boycott operations to focus on organizing farm workers for union elections.
Ramon went back to work at the Forty Acres, first as a volunteer and then as a full-time staff person in charge of maintenance. He also went to work with his second wife, Antonia, after construction of the Agbayani Village, which she managed. He would bring his children with him to help work on weekends before retiring in 1991 after suffering a back injury. In later years, Ramon busied himself in his backyard garden and enjoyed accompanying Antonia to work at the Agbayani Village. “The Forty Acres were his life,” Javier observed.
“Cesar Chavez was always uncomfortable being recognized in public because he knew there were so many men and women who dedicated their lives to the movement, but whose names are largely unknown,” said Paul F. Chavez, Chavez’s middle son and president of the Cesar Chavez Foundation. “Ramon Gonzalez was one of them.”
“He was always there to support us,” Javier Gonzalez said of his father. “He made sure we had clothes on our back, was a very good cook and even though he didn’t have an education, he worked hard to make sure we did.”
Ramon Gonzalez loved to play music and was an accomplished accordion player. He formed a band with his three brothers called Con Junto Sierra Blanca. They specialized in Norteno music and played quinceaneras, weddings and clubs. Javier, at 14, joined the band as a bass player. Ramon and other family members sang every Sunday in the choir at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church and also performed at UFW observances such as funerals and each day during Cesar Chavez’s 1988 fast against pesticides at the Forty Acres.
His wife, Antonia, and his six children—Estella Sepulveda, Javier Gonzalez, Elena Samano, Raul Gonzalez, Alicia Valenzuela and Carlos Gonzalez—plus stepson Rene Jordan survive Ramon. He leaves 26 grandchildren and 23 great-grandchildren. Six siblings also survive Ramon: Eva Mejia, Amelia Macias, Carman Salazar, Glafira Salazar, Victor Gonzalez and Eliseo Gonzalez. Brothers Juan and Samuel Gonzalez preceded Ramon in death.
A Rosary is set for 6 p.m. on Thursday at Delano Mortuary, 707 Browning Rd., Delano 93215. A Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated at 2 p.m. on Friday at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church, 1015 Clinton St., Delano 93215, followed by internment at North Kern Cemetery.
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