Salomon Cantu's Obituary
With profound sadness we announce the passing of Salomon Cantu, loving and devoted husband, father, grandfather and friend to all whose lives he touched.
Salomon was born in 1937 in Corpus Christi, Texas. He served in the United States Air Force for 20 years; early in his adventure, while stationed in England, he met and married the love of his life, Pearl Selina.
In the 1960s Sal was so happy to share his growing family with his mother and siblings while stationed in Fort Worth, Texas and also made some of his happiest memories while stationed near Pearl’s family in England before ultimately settling in the states. In 1969 Salomon, Pearl and their six children settled in Tacoma, Washington, and bought the house where they would raise their family and create a lifetime of memories. As his children grew he attended every wrestling match, football game and sporting event – he had great pride for his family and always was the loudest voice cheering on his children (and eventually grandchildren) and also their friends and teammates.
Salomon loved to learn, he always said “you can be anything you want to be when you grow up,” so after retiring from the military he went on to study and receive a Bachelor’s Degree in Psychology, after which he created his dream job with the Washington State Employment Security Department. He believed that the most important thing was to find a job you loved, often saying “when you find a job you love you’ll never have to ‘work’ a day in your life.” He was committed to sharing this philosophy across 35 years with the ESD as he supported veterans in finding their happy place working in the world; not only a job, but something they loved doing. Sal worked across the political aisle with our states’ governors over the years, who signed proclamations into being – declarations to provide the services and benefits our veterans deserve. He went on to create hundreds of ‘Job Fairs’ – ultimately leading to dream job matches for thousands of veterans. Salomon also created and ran a family business with his sons called Repair Masters, bringing together his favorite things – spending time with his family and helping people.
Salomon was devoted to his family; simply being together was his favorite place to be. Sal’s warmth, generosity, infectious laughter, and sweet spirit drew others to him; he was the bright light of our world. Sharing with others brought him great joy and he would often tell us how important it is to feed people – he loved to literally feed his family, delighting in our breakfasts and dinners together – but even more so, he fed the hearts and souls of those around him; his heart was an infinite well of love and wisdom, pouring forth a fountain of strength, courage and so much love for us all. He will be deeply mourned and missed forever.
He is preceded in death by his parents Salomon and Manuela B Cantu; sister, Elida; brothers, George and Ramiro Cantu. He is survived by his loving wife Pearl Selina; children Steven, Gary, David, Marty, Angelina and Scott; 15 grandchildren and 15 great-grandchildren; brother Frank Cantu; 9 nieces, 2 nephews. We are so grateful for the great gift of Salomon’s love, grateful for the gift of sharing life with him; may his wisdom, strength, courage, kindness and compassion live on through us today and always.
You can watch the Aspen Chapel service using the following link:
http://webcast.funeralvue.com/events/viewer/45334
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