Abuelo Patrocinio
José Patrocinio Quintero Nuñez was named after a Catholic saint, Our Lady of Patrocinio, whose statue is in a cathedral in Zacatecas, Mexico where he was born. He had sixteen siblings, which he said banned ogether like an army to rebel against his parents. He also said his parents never lost those battles.
He came to Ensenada as a young man with one goal, to get married. He accomplished his goal when he met the lady he still calls the love of his life, Leony. They had two children, Flavio, who passed away when he was only 21, and Leonor. She married an American man and moved to the United States many years ago.
Patrocinio lost Leony to an undiagnosed illness when she was 51. Since she was an American citizen, she came to the US for treatment. She died two weeks later and was buried in the US. With tears in his eyes, Patrocinio says the hardest thing about losing her was that he couldn't be with her when she died and he can't even visit her grave. After she passed, he dedicated his time to working long hours. He worked at the Ford dealership in Ensenada for thirty two years until he retired.
Patrocinio has been at Casa del Abuelo since shortly after it opened. He loves to read because he loves to learn. He says that even at the age of 79 he is still learning many interesting things. And when he learns interesting things, he immediately wants to teach all the rest of the Abuelos so that they can learn too. The staff and the other Abuelo’s call him Professor.
Adopt an Abuelo
Casa del Abuelo cares for more than 20 abuelos at a time. They operate entirely on donations to cover expenses for water, propane, gas, food, transportation, and medicine. For $50 a month you can help provide these essential items for an abuelo.
