Celebrant Pam Meily Vetter


	Celebrating Life Everyone Has A Story...

Pedro "Pete" Vallejo Barra was born in Coachella, California, to Mickey and Cayetan Barra in 1934. Pete was raised with his siblings Eddie, Cay Jr., Joe, Val, David, Linda, Henry and Gilbert. He was close with his family. In fact, he and Gilbert used to go on little adventures together, as they enjoyed their childhood. When Pete was a teenager, the family moved to Rancho Dominguez. His mother worked at a fish cannery, while his father worked as a longshoreman in Long Beach. Soon, Pete left school to work and earn a living.

In 1953, Pete voluntarily joined the United States Army. Stationed in Germany as a lineman, he served our country proudly for three years. After being honorably discharged on June 1, 1956, he returned to Southern California. A few weeks later, he met a young lady by the name of Josie. It was clear Josie and Pete had a lot in common and they started dating. In October 1956, the couple drove to Yuma, Arizona, where they married before a Justice of the Peace. Pete adopted Josie's baby daughter, Jeanie, and raised her as his own. The couple went on to have five more children: Pete, Evelyn, Cindi, Nadine and Stephanie. Pete had a huge heart for children and the family helped care for foster kids over the years. When Josie's mother was unable to care for her foster children anymore, Josie and Pete adopted 10-year-old Maria as their own. It was rare that such a big family would extend their hearts to adopt another child and their story was featured on the news. With Maria's adoption, their family was complete.

Pete liked teasing the kids and he made everything exciting for them. He was creative and made the kids laugh. He was truly a father filled with fun and joy. He shared his love of animals with his family, as they owned dogs and cats. He also built a pond for his goldfish, even though the kids thought the pond was for swimming. With a love of music, Pete bought a beautiful Baby Grand Piano for the family home so the kids could play piano. He liked listening to Mexican Mariachi music and country music.

Professionally, Pete worked in plastics followed by work in the aircraft industry at McDonnell Douglas. Through the G.I. bill, he went to school to learn sheet metal work. When the kids were growing up, at times he worked two jobs, one during the day and one at night. Because he was away from Josie and the kids during the week he would make them pancakes and popcorn as a treat on the weekends. Pete was one of eight men out of a pool of over 300 recruited by the telephone company. Pete worked in telecommunications with AT&T for the 30 years, until his retirement five years ago. At AT&T he managed and installed PBX systems. His work also included climbing telephone poles, in which he once fell off of. Pete was robbed and shot at while working for AT&T but that never deterred him from providing for his family.

There were so many wonderful times spent together. The family loved to hear the waves of the ocean and sometimes they'd take the motor home and park it by the Queen Mary just to listen to the waves. It was always an adventure. When the kids were growing up, they also had motorcycles. Pete taught them how to ride the motorcycles, as he loved riding his own Honda. The kids were so good at riding motorcycles; Nadine, Cindy and Evelyn once received traffic tickets when they were driving motorcycles without a license to drive. They were just under the age of 10 when they were pulled over by the police. Memories of the motor home bring huge smiles in the family. The family took vacations in the motor home to many locations including San Francisco, Yosemite, the Redwoods, and on fishing trips. In fact, Pete loved to fish over the years and oftentimes took his family fishing. He loved getting his lobster fix and he'd go fishing on his boat, catching lobsters as big as cats.

Pete had many hobbies and interests. In his free time, he was the best mechanic as he fixed cars on weekends. If you had a problem with your car, he'd get upset if you didn't ask him for help. He was very talented. He was handy around the house as well. He even installed phones over the toilet, so the phone was always accessible even in the bathrooms. He loved to fix things and help his family. Another one of his hobbies was gardening, as he enjoyed growing chiles and tomatoes. With a love of sports, Pete loved the Lakers and Dodgers throughout his life, watching games throughout the season on TV.

Family was always the best part of his life. When Josie and Pete divorced after 24 years of marriage, it was very difficult on him and he took it hard. He later remarried and became estranged from his children. This was the darkest time of his life. About five years ago he reunited with his children. In fact, he separated from his wife and lived with his daughters for the last year until his passing. The last year was an amazing gift for him and his children, as they loved reminiscing. Pete Barra will best be remembered as a hard working good provider and a very generous, fun-loving, active father. He was always a positive thinker, always a joker and someone who found the smile in life. Truly, his last days were spent smiling. He saw the first game of the playoffs for the Lakers and was happy that they won. He was anxious and excited to watch the rest of the playoffs after that win. In the end, he was surrounded by his children, as he passed away peacefully. His advice to his family would be to love one another and stick together. His family will miss his presence, personality, sound effects, and wonderful stories that helped the kids relive their incredible childhood. They will be forever grateful for their father's love.

May Pete Barra rest in peace…

Pete was preceded in death by his parents Mickey and Cayetan; siblings Linda, Henry and Gilbert; daughter Jeanie; and grandson Richard. He is remembered by his children Pete, Evelyn, Cindy, Nadine, Stephanie, and Maria; grandchildren: J.J., Mario, P.J., Michael, Aaron, Alex, Stephanie, Jonathan, Wesley, Daniel, Sabrina, and Aiden; great-grandchildren Danny, Brianna, and Clarissa; In laws: Rick, Doug, and Richie; Josie and her husband Ed; siblings Eddie, Cay Jr., Joe, Val, and David; good friend Val; extended relatives and friends.