Jesus Contreras Guerrero

Jesse (Jesus) Guerrero was born June 4, 1934 in Mexico to Miguel and Consuelo. His family moved to Modesto when he was a toddler. There, he lived on a farm which undoubtedly cultivated his own interest in fruits (eating them!) and flowers. After high school graduation, he attended San Jose State, served in the army, and eventually ended up in Lindsay. He spent time in Indiana, too, earning his Masters Degree as well as teaching at a Jesuit Prep School (oh the stories!). He passed away at the age of 88 on January 9, 2023 in Visalia, California. He was one of seven children-Carmen, Mike, Joe, Josephine, Esther, and Alice. He is survived by his children, Kurt (Evelyn), Andre', and JeanneMarie, as well as five grandchildren and one great grandchild; he was predeceased by one grandson. "Mr. G" lived a full life, enjoying meeting and talking with anyone who would listen. Among his many skills he enjoyed cooking (and eating), loved flowers (pink roses and carnations were his favorite), reading (read and reread anything and everything by Louis L'Amour) traveling (he reminisced often about his trips to Japan, and Mexico was a favorite destination), he was quite the tennis player, and spoke numerous languages. He used to spend summers in Indianapolis restringing tennis racquets for a pro shop and worked at the Clay Court Championship-even handing Jimmy Connors his racquet once! He was an educator for many years in Lindsay, CA, teaching Spanish and French, as well as coaching tennis and teaching driver's training (I'm sure many remember apologizing to Mr. Stop Sign). During his tenure at LUSD, he also served as principal at Steve Garvey Jr. High and in the district office. Really, though, he loved teaching and kept in touch with many former students. Perhaps he was such a dedicated teacher because he wanted his love of learning to transfer to those he cared about? He had a great love of the Lord and was a long time member of the Church of Jesus Christ in Lindsay. His room was filled with various bibles and other books he used to research various aspects of religion. We would like to thank the staff at Twin Oaks for their care over the last 6.5 years. He made many friends and enjoyed his time there (ignore the grumbling). His cause of death is basically old age, which is how many of us would like to go. If you would like to make a donation, please consider the Central California Blood Bank where he was a frequent donor. As he always said, May He Rest in Peace. Memorial services will be held 1:00 PM Saturday, January 28th, 2023 at Salser & Dillard Funeral Chapel, 127 E. Caldwell Ave., Visalia. Services have been entrusted to Salser & Dillard Funeral Chapel. Memorial Tributes and condolences may be offered by logging onto www.salseranddillard.com.

Jesus Contreras Guerrero

June 4, 1934 - January 9, 2023