Alfred "Al" Mendoza, Jr.
June 17, 1953 ~ June 6, 2016
Resided in:
Tracy, CA
Alfred (Al) Mendoza, Jr. passed away unexpectedly at the all too early age of 62 doing what he loved most - caring for his cows with his wife, Laurel, by his side.A Fremont native and the son of a 4th generation cattle rancher, he spent his early childhood with his father and brothers on the ranch. As he grew up, he found a love for motorcycles, and raced dirt bikes and owned several Harleys, building one from scratch. He also bowled league, and liked to mountain bike and ski. Along the way, he gained a large group of friends who enjoyed the same interests.At the same time, Al enjoyed a lifelong career at EBMUD, where he began as a laborer, and retired as an Assistant Superintendent. He was well loved and respected by those he worked with, further expanding his wide circle of friends. Upon retirement, Al turned full time to cattle ranching, and did so with dedication and joy.Al is survived by his loving wife, Laurel Mendoza, brothers Robert and Frank, sister Marlene, Diane and Joyce. He also is survived by his stepsons Justin and Brandon. Al was greatly loved and respected by all those he met along the way, and leaves behind a very large and diverse circle of people who call him their friend. We will all miss his warm heart, bright eyes, and ever-present smile.Family and friends are invited to a 1:30 - 5:00 PM Visitation with a 4:00 PM Vigil on Sunday, June 12th at Berge-Pappas-Smith Chapel of the Angels, 40842 Fremont Blvd., Fremont, CA. A 9:00 AM Mass of Resurrection will be held on Monday, June 13th at Mission San Jose, 43300 Mission Blvd., Fremont, CA.
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So sorry! He was my uncle and I will remember him dearly. I am Marlene’s daughter Mimi.
Sincerely Mimi Hansen Heldreth
I am truly sorry for this unthinkable loss cousin. See you this weekend.
Al was such a sweet, gentle man with a kind heart. You could see his smile in his eyes and always knew his warmness was genuine. He will be greatly missed by all who knew him. If we can be of comfort to you, Laurel, in any way, please don’t hesitate to call on us.
A heart of gold, A smile so bright, witty and full of laughter. Many good memories I hold in my heart you will be missed my friend.
Laurel, I pray for god’s strength and the love of close friends and family to comfort you through this most difficult time.
One of the many things that stands out about Al was his infectious smile and his love for Laurel. Our hearts ache for your loss and even though I know no words can ease the pain please know that you are in our thoughts and prayers
Love
The Clarks
TJ, Amber, Dusty and Taos
Al will forever be in our hearts remembered for everything he was to our family. He was a mentor, father figure and grandpa to us and our son Scott we love you with all of our hearts and Laurel he lives through all of us with everything we learned from him and his ways. We admire the life he lived and who he was as a man a husband a friend and “the boss” but mostly as PaPa Al we will miss you forever and enjoy you through Laurel and the love we have for the both of you Xoxox
Al was my friend for over 20 years and there was nothing he loved more than his cattle and motorcycles. And then came Laurel, his soul mate, who brightened his everyday and made his life complete. I will miss his sweet gentle soul and will always cherish the memories of times spent together. Love to you Laurel and know that we are always here for you.
Al, my long time friend, I’m sadden by you leaving us so soon. I’m joyous in the hope of eternity and the thoughts of seeing you again.
Laurel, we here left behind, are the ones that are left to grieve without the one we love the most. Our warm hugs and thoughts of love surround you. May God comfort you now and bring you some peace. We love you.
Al was a true gentleman. He was always smiling and always took the time to ask about how your day was going. He was kind and thoughtful and loved Laurel more than life. My heart hurts for you, Laurel. I am praying for you. May Al rest in peace.
Al will be truly missed. A heart so big, a smile so big. I just spoke with him a few weeks back and as always asked how I was doing with that big smile on his face. Laurel I’m so very sorry for this unexpected loss, my heart hurts for you and your family. Hugs Teresa
Al touched the lives of everyone that was fortunate enough to call him a friend. He always greeted you with a genuine smile and never hesitated to help those in need. His years with Laurel, his wife, partner and soul mate were his happiest. Our fond memories of Al will be with us forever. We will miss you, but never forget you.
Al, my youngest Brother! I’ve loved you from the moment Mom and Dad brought you
home from the hospital. You were the sweetest, kindest, most generous, happiest person in my life. The Lord gave you a wonderful spirit. Everyone that ever met you
loved you. You’ve always made everyone feel so welcome and always had time for them in your very busy life. I prayed so hard on Monday that the Lord would let us have you longer, but he knew your work was finished and he needed you with him.
I’m so glad that you, Laurel and I were able to have that wonderful vacation together in Las Vegas a few weeks ago. We didn’t know that it would be our last. I will always
see your wonderful smile and your dimples when I think of you.
I pray that the Lord would comfort Laurel’s broken heart and give her strength. She
was the perfect ” Love of Your Life”.
I will love you always, and will see you again someday! Miss you so much Al.
Your Sister, Joyce
There aren’t enough adjectives to describe Al, but here are a few: strong, gentle, thoughtful, caring, friendly, helpful, selfless, loving, generous (with time and money), loyal, truthful (a man of his word). We couldn’t have asked for a better son and husband for Laurel. He always treated her like his queen and we will forever be grateful you came into her life. Thank you for introducing them Allison at (guess what) a cattle roundup. Laurel finally got to be the cowgirl she always wanted to be – and having a cowboy like Al alongside her was a bonus. You left us way too soon Al and I wish you a happy journey. Until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hand.
These are only a few of my memories of “Little Al”. He was a sweet and handsome little guy with dark curly hair, big dimples and a big smile. I remember Diane, with a flower in her hair, all proud, strutting down the street pushing our precious little guy in a stroller so everyone could see. One day my Mother was at the sink washing dishes and all the cars on the highway were sounding their horns. Wondering what was going on, she went outside and a neighbor told her there was a kid riding a tricycle on the white line–who else, but Little Al. He was only about 2 years old then. At 3 years old he got a bicycle with training wheels. The training wheels hadn’t been put on yet, but he managed to ride it without them. I don’t believe they ever got put on. He seemed to do everything ahead of schedule, learning from his older brothers and sisters. All of us catered to him and spoiled him rotten. At 6 years old he would always talk his brother-in-law B.J. to shoot marbles with him–beating him all the time. Everything Little Al did he did in a big way!
Al was very lucky to find Laurel who was always by his side and helped him with the things he loved to do. I know he loved her very much.
My thoughts and prayers are with you, Laurel. May God bless you and guide you through this tragic loss. We will all miss him so very much.
Love,
Al’s Big Sister,
Marlene (Mendoza) Hansen
My little brother Al was the ring bearer at my wedding he was always so sweet. He had grown up to be such a wonderful man and husband to Laurel. I loved he always had a smile on his face that showed his dimples.He touched so many people’s lives he was loved by all.He will be missed terribly and we will love him forever. We are truly sorry we are unable to come ,under the circumstances I am unable to travel at this time just know we are thinking of you.
To Laurel,
I had a dream last night:
Al and were talking and I told him I would not be able to go to his funeral services this weekend, but in a few years, we can meet at the top of the hill and go over a lot of old ranching stories.
Your old rancher friend, Bernie
I don’t know if I ever really “met” Al. He was Tiny’s son and Tiny was a family friend and that made Al a family friend. It didn’t take long to go from “family friend” to close friend.
The first time I remember ever spending any time with him was stacking hay at Vargas Plateau. I think I was kicking bales off and he and Abbie were stacking. I clearly remember being impressed with his hay handling skill. By that time I was also working at EBMUD and I knew he was a supervisor, but he was working more like a temporary Paving Raker trying to get on permanent.
About that time Al was starting to spend more time helping Tiny with the cows and we would go help at his Round Ups. One year he asked me ” Where are all your single girlfriends?” Gee, if I had only known….I could have brought a dozen (everybody wants a chance to go to a branding). So, the next year, in brought one – just one – Laurel.
I couldn’t tell if there were any sparks at first – Al was busy telling people what to do and we were busy doing what we were told, but when he stopped in between branding locations to pick up flowers for her- I knew it was a match. They’ve been pretty much inseparable since that day. I always claim I got a “Finder’s Fee” for that one.
I’m grateful to have become close to Al – he went from Family Friend to FAMILY. I’m grateful to have had him as a mentor to Brandon and as another Grandpa to Scotty.
I’ll miss his infectious smile and bright eyes. We lost one of the “good ones”. Al will be dearly missed, but never forgotten. I love you, Buddy and I’m here for you Laurel.
On Monday ,June 6th,I lost a friend,I’d even say my best friend judging from the hurt I feel.
I imagine that day that the good Lord decided that heaven needed a little “tightening up” as Al would say,He probably sent word down to St Peter to get a few Ol Cowboys and remove the Pearly Gates and replace them with a couple of Powder River gates so Al could find his way and feel more at home! He first would walk the perimeter ,as usual.Then set out on his Quad equipped with wire,pliers,fence stretcher,hammer,ect so he could get heaven ready for our journey to meet him one day….
Al was a Master cattleman and his dream he was living,taking care of his herd like no other could.never did I see him angered by a stubborn cow or bull,but just say,”that’s what happens when you have Cows”.He treated them with care and respect.Better than most treat their kids!
There is a void I’m my life but knowing we will meet again someday gives me a reason to smile! I am a better person by knowing my friend,Al Mendoza.
Thank you Al.
Remember that “In the end,it’s not the years in a life,but the life in the years”
Al was a friend of mine long ago. He was very kind to me, he made me laugh all the time.watched over me,talked to me when I was down or lonely, and told me I would have a really nice smile if I got my bottom teeth fixed. I never got to tell him I had them fixed, but I’m sure now he knows.
By reading all of the entries from his friends it seems that life treated Al like he treated others. It was also nice to hear he had gotten married to a really nice lady and was so in love. He deserved that. I will miss Al even though I hadn’t seen him in years he left a mark on my life that I will always remember his kindness. I am very grateful that God gave me a friend like Al.