Adam Chavez

I hesitated to publish this life sketch, which was read at my dad’s funeral last week, but I feel that maybe it can inspire somebody else to live a little better. I’ve published it here, mostly exactly how it was read. If you have a story about my dad that you’d like to share, please add it in the comments.

Michael Steven Chavez was born on October 18, 1952, to Mary Louise Chavez and Antonio Lucero Chavez.  He is the second son and second child of five children of Mary Louise and Antonio. 

As the second of five children with an older brother that is 4.5 years older than him and a younger brother that is about 2.5 years younger than him, he got into his fair share of scuffles and fist fights.  Most were your standard brotherly fist fights/scuffles but on one such occasion he tried to take off his older brother’s head with a baseball bat. Luckily for his brother Tony, he missed and only took out the kitchen window. 

From the ages of approximately 8-18 he was involved in the Scouts graduating to the level of Explorer. He loved being part of the scouts because he loved being outdoors and working with his hands even as a youth. He would build things, take them apart and put them back together again. He and his younger brother Vince planted many of the trees that currently line the backyard of his parent’s house. 

In high school Michael was a social guy, as he was described as easy going, comfortable to be around and easy to talk to.  He played football, soccer and ran track and field during high school. He had a lot of friends and was very involved and enthusiastic about being a member of the student body counsel. On one occasion he borrowed his mother’s car for a high school spirit rally that involved driving around Pacifica in a parade of cars.  After the rally the horn had to be replaced on his mother’s car because he had blown out the horn from having honked it so many times during the rally.

In his late teens he became involved with an organization called the Youth Service Bureau in Pacifica.  The organization provides counseling services for youth and families.  The counseling services are provided not only by trained counselors but also by other young individuals utilizing a peer counseling strategy.  Michael became a peer counselor at the Youth Service Bureau and volunteered at the organization for many years into his early twenties.  He met his first wife, Karen, who is the mother of his daughter Rebecca, at the Youth Service Bureau where she was a peer counselor as well.

Growing up he spent many Sundays at his grandmother’s home in the Mission district in San Francisco with his parents, siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins. His grandmother called him “Burrito” (little donkey) because he was very stubborn once he made up his mind. This trait would follow him into his adult years. In his early twenties he continued his weekend visits to his grandmother on his own taking his daughter Rebecca with him. When he visited his grandmother, he would also stop by next door to visit Elena and Pitan, an elderly couple who did not have grandchildren of their own and who had in a way adopted Michael as their own grandchild.  After Pitan’s passing, Michael would visit Elena and bring his daughter Rebecca with him.  They would visit Elena for a few hours and during his visits he would often fix things around her house while she would watch Rebecca and make them snacks.

Michael was raised Catholic but in his late teens to early twenties took a fervent interest in his own spiritual growth.  He read and researched about Eastern religions and Western religions and began actively trying to find his own spiritual path. In the late seventies, he met John Boyle & Gary Bunnell, who were members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Pacifica, California. They introduced Michael to the Church.