Obituary of Guadalupe "Lupe" Mena Olvera

95 year old WW2 veteran, Guadalupe Mena Olvera, known as “Lupe”, passed away peacefully on March 12th, at the home of his daughter, Becky Olvera Schultz, and his son-in-law, Robert Schultz, where he happily spent his last 4.5 years. He was preceded in death by his wife, Carmela, and his son, David. Lupe was the oldest of 9 children, 6 of which preceded him in death. He is also survived by his granddaughter Jessica Norman, grandson-in-law Jimmy Norman, great granddaughter Jada Norman, sister Dolores Santoya, brother Lucas Olvera and dozens of nieces and nephews. Lupe was born in Carrizo Springs, Texas. He was a handsome young man, popular with the ladies, an excellent dancer, athletic and laughed easily. He served in the Army from 1941-1945 in the 36th Infantry Division, Company A, 111th Engineer Combat Battalion. He endured 400 days of combat in the Battle of Campaigns of Naples-Foggia, Rome-Arno, Southern France, Rhineland/Battle of the Bulge and Central Europe. His decorations were EAME Campaign Medal with 5 Bronze Stars and Bronze Arrowhead, American Defense Medal and Good Conduct Medal. After being discharged from the Army he married Carmela and enlisted in the Air Force and served from 1946-1949 at Holloman Air Force Base in New Mexico. After his discharge from the Air Force in 1949 Lupe and his wife moved to Southern California. Years later they moved to Santa Cruz County to be near their daughter and granddaughter, where with the help of his son, he built a home on their beautiful 5 acre property where he lovingly tended to fruit trees, vegetables and herbs. After the death of his son, Lupe and Carmela moved to Windsor and then Livermore, but eventually relocated to Nevada, despite objections and warnings from family. After Carmela passed away in 2009, Lupe became the victim of exploitation due to an unnecessary guardianship. Fearing for his life and angry about his life savings being drained by the guardian, he asked his daughter and son-in-law to bring him back to California; they honored his wishes. Lupe never left home without wearing one of his many WW2 Veteran ball caps. He was extremely proud of his service during WW2 and enjoyed all the attention when acknowledged and thanked for his service. He was a life time member of Aptos VFW Post 10110 where he actively participated in Buddy Poppy Days and fundraisers. He especially enjoyed participating in the Aptos 4th of July Parade, which his Post has lead for many years. Lupe worked as a carpenter for 58 years, mostly for a Los Angeles County Local and in his later years for Aptos Local 505. His entire life he enjoyed building and fixing things. He also loved fishing and playing the harmonica, but his all-time favorite thing was baseball. While his son was growing up and active in baseball, he often served as coach. As he aged he knew he was still good looking and enjoyed having a full head of beautiful white hair, thinking it was funny that so many young men had no hair. Women adored him until the end and he loved the attention. He was a hardworking and honest man with a gentle nature and a great sense of humor. He adored his daughter and was very fond of his son-in-law. Lupe was buried at San Joaquin Valley National Cemetery with full Military Honors as he wished. The urn containing the ashes of his wife, Carmela, was placed in his casket.