Valentin Ayala Zuniga was born May 21, 1942 in Reynosa Tamaulipas, Mexico. He passed away on November 21, 2016 in Visalia, California.
He moved to Corcoran in 1953. As a child, Valentin and his family worked as migrant workers. They traveled through California, Oregon, Washington and other states which offered farm labor work. While in the second grade, Valentin dropped out of school to work as a farm laborer to help his family financially. His work ethic was evident as a young boy and carried on to adulthood. He was 18 years old when he started working for J.G. Boswell, he stated, “I’ll never forget my first job when I came to work for this company. I was digging trenches for drain pipes with a shovel. That was back before the days of backhoes.” The hard work paid off for Valentin because, just seven years later at the young age of 25, he became the irrigation foreman in the Homeland District. A couple of years later he transferred to Paso Robles District. He retired after 40 years in 2000. Valentin was married to his wife, Maria for 38 years. Together they enjoyed many trips to Mexicali to visit friends and relatives. He fathered nine children and opened his home
to many foster children, throughout the years. He became a father figure for many. Valentin Zuniga prided himself in his hard work and dedication he gave J.G. Boswell. Valentin enjoyed attending church at Resurrection Ministries. He became an official member of the church in 1994. He demonstrated his love and passion for the congregation pastor and church with his “Jesus is #1” handshakes, picking up the offering, his role as deacon, and Friday night prayer leader for 22 years. He has been with his wife Maria Vega Zuniga since 1978. He and Maria had five children they raised in Corcoran, CA. He and his wife despite the age difference were truly meant to be, as they complimented one another extremely well. They shared many laughs and he was our Mother’s rock through hardships throughout the years. Valentin’s hobbies were traveling to Mexicali, Mexico, congregating with family, trying new foods and of course watching WWE and western movies such as Gun Smoke. Today we encourage family and friends to wear WWE shirts because of his passion for wrestling. He enjoyed all wrestling and attended several WWE events. His last days, he was surrounded by his wife and children. He left this earth complete and was comforted to know his family was well. Visitation will be held today (Thursday) at 6 p.m. throughout the evening at Resurrection Ministries. Funeral services will be held tomorrow (Friday) at 10 a.m. Burial will follow at Corcoran District Cemetery. He will be missed.