California

James Mercadante, 55

Died January 10, 2021.

Saugus High School, Santa Clarita, CA

Lead Supervisor

Local news:

Three members of the same family from the Santa Clarita area died from COVID-19 complications after attending a gathering with relatives around Thanksgiving.

Two brothers, 55-year-old James Mercadante and 51-year-old George Mercadante, died hours apart from one another, and their uncle, also named George Mercadante, who was in his 80s, passed away two weeks later.

James and George’s sister, Sarah Mercadante, thinks the virus may have spread during the family gathering, which she did not attend, as the symptoms of all three men started around the same time. Her brothers and uncle were all hospitalized.

“I just kept thinking, ‘We’re strong and healthy, we’re strong and healthy,’” she said. “But no.”

Sarah says she didn’t get a chance to say goodbye to James, who died on Jan. 10, in person.

“He said, ‘God bless you, Sarah, and I love you.’ That was the last thing he said to me,” she said. “I would say, ‘You’re young and healthy. You’re gonna get through it.’ Now I feel awful. He was the one being the most careful and he was the first one to pass away in the family.”

Her other brother George died hours later. Then her uncle died about two weeks later, on Jan. 27.

“There’s no rhyme or reason behind it. It’s cruel. It’s evil,” Sarah said. “You can’t be in the hospital with your loved one when this is going on. It’s gut wrenching.”

James was a lead supervisor at Saugus High School and survived the 2019 mass shooting there. The school posted on Facebook saying that his kind personality and smile will be missed.

His sister says he was an active and strong bicyclist, hang glider and an Army veteran.

“Strong and healthy as an ox. It knocked him out so fast,” Sarah said.

Their brother George had a disability and James cared for him most of his life, she said.

“He was basically the mind and heart of a child stuck in a grown man’s body,” Sarah explained.

Their uncle George, also an Army veteran, was hospitalized for several weeks before Sarah said she made the difficult decision to take him off life support. She says she fought for him to be treated with non-approved drugs under the Right to Try Act, but it was too late.

“My uncle loved to travel and he was always a spur-of-the-moment, adventurous kind of guy even at 85. And strong as an ox as well,” Sarah said.

Her parents, who are in their 80s, also tested positive for the coronavirus, but they recovered.

“What’s gonna end up killing my dad is burying his two sons and his brother,” she said.

Sarah says her outlook on the virus has changed.

“When you watch three of your loved ones pass away on ventilators and life support right in front of you … Every day I’m dealing with a mix of emotions between grief and anger toward the virus,” she said.

A friend of the Mercadante family set up a GoFundMe page to help with funeral expenses.

Pete Perez

Died February 8, 2021.

Valencia High School, Valencia, CA

Music

Obituary:

Peter Rivera Perez was the first born of three children to parents Jose and Georgina Perez. Peter and his siblings grew up in a wonderful and close-knit family in Oxnard, California. His grandparents, aunts and uncles all lived within a three-block radius, giving way to days filled celebrating family, music, dancing, food, faith, and love of life. Peter always stood out with his red hair, just like his great-grandfather.

His childhood, filled with family and pride of his Mexican culture, led he and his siblings to dance Mexican Ballet Folklorico at various events throughout the region. Not a Cinco de Mayo went by that they were not performing from dawn to dusk.

Peter was the first of the family to pick up an instrument which started their love of music where he, his brother Rafael, and sister Mary Ellen would continue throughout the years to play in marching bands, concert bands, orchestras, jazz bands, festivals, community bands, and at church. He started on the clarinet and then moved to the oboe. His musical talent soared and no matter what instrument he picked up, he had a talent for it.

Peter was an accomplished woodwind player, specializing in oboe, English horn, saxophone, clarinet, and flute. He also played drums in his high school marching band. An alumni of California State University, Long Beach, Peter studied under the directorship of John Prince, Akira Endo and Larry Curtis, just to name a few and performed in the “Big Brown Music Machine” marching band as well as various school groups throughout the United States, Australia, and Scotland. A partial list of Peter’s live performances includes playing with the Joffrey Ballet Company, the Santa Monica Symphony, and the Pageant of the Masters Orchestra. In addition, Peter performed with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, at the KOOL Jazz Festival at the Hollywood Bowl (now called the Playboy Jazz Festival), the Montreux Jazz Festival, and America’s Youth in Concert-European Tour where he played at Carnegie Hall and all over Europe. He performed in the orchestra for several musical theater performances in Los Angeles including Phantom of the Opera, Evita, and the Nutcracker ballet. He also recorded several motion picture soundtracks and television recordings including Sister Act, The Last of the Mohicans, Jingle All the Way, Animaniacs, and Batman the Animated Series, just to name a few. Through it all, he remained humble and often wouldn’t tell others of his musical accomplishments, enjoying instead to spend time with friends eating great food, fishing, listening to music, or laughing together.

Peter dedicated the majority of his teaching career to the Valencia High School Tiger Regiment in Placentia, California. For the past 30 years, Peter served as the assistant band director as well as the director of the jazz bands and advisor to the combos, earning numerous top awards and accolades with his various groups. In addition to VHS, Peter worked with the bands at Fountain Valley High School, Savanna High School, Kennedy High School, and Kraemer Middle School. For the last 12 years, Peter was a site coordinator with Music in the Parks, a national band/orchestra/choir music festival organization. Peter was a member of the Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association (SCSBOA), International Association of Jazz Educators and has served as clinician, auditioner, and band manager for several of the SCSBOA’s honor groups throughout his career.

For over 30 years, he influenced the lives of thousands of students as their music teacher. Peter had great success in teaching his students the love of music, jazz and jazz history, and guided his students to earn numerous top awards and accolades over the past 30 years. It was important to Peter to expose his students to career paths in music by facilitating concerts with college and military bands as well as the annual jazz guest artist program, playing with many over the years including Poncho Sanchez, Bob Florence, Barbara Morrison, Francisco Torres, Wayne Bergeron, Andy Martin, George Graham, Eric Marienthal, Bill Liston, Sal Lozano, and Alex Hahn to name a few. A consistent participant in the annual International Reno Jazz Festival, the Essentially Ellington – Las Vegas Regional Festival, and many local Orange County festivals, the VHS Jazz ensembles and combos earned numerous high marks over the years. The band has also been asked to perform at various community and school district events. For him, the camaraderie between schools was always more important than winning, often making a point to attend other school’s concerts and competitions as well as his annual dedication to the District-wide Jazz Jam each winter.

However, most would say that he wasn’t *just* a music teacher, but rather mentor, sometimes-therapist, and friend. For many, he fostered an environment that was a safe place where students could be themselves and belong during those turbulent teen years. He served as mentor to many Eagle Scouts, attended many quinceneras, weddings, college concerts, and graduations of his former students.

In 1999, Peter married Jennifer Minor and started a life in Orange County where together they proudly raised two beautiful boys. Being a husband and a father were two of his greatest joys in life. Pete and Jen built a home in Placentia where they infused the foundations of faith, family, laughter, and the love of music, soccer, and fishing. Some of their best memories were playing board games and roasting s’mores in the backyard, taking trips to the Central Coast of California, fishing at Southern California beaches, visiting family, and attending concerts, playing music and soccer together.

Peter was preceded in death by his father Jose Perez.

Peter is survived by his wife, Jennifer, of 21 years and their two boys, Christian-18 and Gabriel-15. He is also survived by his mother, Georgina, brother Rafael (Pamela), sisters Mary Ellen (David), Soledad, and Ana; in-laws Paul and Vivienne, sister-in-law Alison, and many nieces, nephews, cousins, aunts, and uncles.

Due to the COVID restriction, attendance to the visitation, rosary, funeral mass, and internment will be limited and by invitation only in order to maintain the safety of those in attendance. Masks and social distancing will be required. However, all services for Peter will be live-streamed and a link will be shared via the Caring Bridge website for anyone wishing to participate virtually.

Visitation will take place on Friday, February 26, 2021 from 4 p.m. to 6:30 p.m. followed by a Rosary beginning at 7 p.m. Both will be held at Garcia Mortuary in Oxnard, California. Visitation will be open to all who wish to attend with a maximum of 40 people rotating in the room at a time. The funeral mass will be at Santa Clara Catholic Church in Oxnard, California on Saturday, February 27, 2021 at 11:30 a.m., followed by the internment at Santa Clara Cemetery. There will be no reception at this time due to COVID restrictions. The family will host a celebration of life in Orange County at a future date when it is safer to gather for all those who wish to come and honor Peter’s life.

The family is so grateful for the generous outpouring of support throughout this difficult time. If you would like to send flowers or plants for the services, please send to Garcia Mortuary at 629 S. “A” Street, Oxnard, CA 93030. Or, in lieu of flowers, donations would be appreciated to the Alzheimer’s Association (https://www.alz.org/), Epilepsy Foundation (http://epilepsy.com), or the Valencia High School Tiger Regiment Band and Colorguard (http://www.tigerregiment.org/fundraising/).

Mark Swartz, 59

Died January 30, 2021.

Lompoc Unified School District, Lompoc, CA

Carpenter

Obituary:

Mark D. Swartz, of Lompoc, California passed away on Saturday January 30, 2021, at the age of 59 due to Covid-19 complications. He took his last breath at 2:10 p.m. that afternoon which unbeknownst to his family was his LUSD radio number and seemed to be his tribute to his LUSD Family.

Mark was an Alumni of Lompoc High, Class of ‘79. He worked for the Lompoc Unified School District for 31 years as a Carpenter. He thoroughly enjoyed his work and was proud of his part in replacing the bleachers at Huyck Stadium. One of the highlights for Mark was BBQ-ing for his work family every month.

Before beginning his career with LUSD he was a hotshot with VAFB and took pride in the fact that he worked at Slick 6 hauling Missile components. Mark was essential in building the Gaviota Chevron Oil Refinery, especially the wall along the highway.

In his early years he enjoyed trap shooting, actually taking a few trophies. He was a member of the Moose Lodge, traveling pool league, the LUSD bowling league where he was known for his 7/10 split pick up. He loved taking weeklong horseback riding trips into the mountains and living out his dream of being a cowboy and he loved John Wayne anything.

Mark was an AVID Dallas Cowboy fan but would cheer for his wife’s favorite, The Chief’s, whenever Dallas was not playing. As he got older he enjoyed deep sea fishing in Alaska with his Dad, Jim and his brother, Michael.

Mark developed a love for camping and would go every chance he got with his loving wife. Mark was a wonderful grandpa and he made great memories with and for his younger grand kids, Cienna and Adrian when they went camping and swimming together at Rancho Oso. His older grandkids remember well their trips to Lake Nacimiento and boating on the lake.

Mark could never do enough for his wife, his four daughters and four grandchildren. He loved showing his girls up with his roller-skating skills. When his daughters were cheerleading, he would help them practice their cheers. As a dedicated father he never missed a game for the girls or the grandchildren.

Mark was in charge of all the family special occasion BBQs and enjoyed every minute of it. He also lovingly put up his Mom’s Christmas tree every year without fail and happily completed all the honey do lists from his wife, whom he loved more than anything.

Mark was many things to many people, but everything to us. He was a great husband, father, son, brother, uncle and friend. And he never met a stranger.

Mark is survived by his wife, Vicky, of 24 years; daughters: Tamera Hernandez (Anthony), Lynn Eden, Sonja Janos, Tina Linderholm; grandchildren: Anthony Janos, Jarrod Chavoya, Cienna Hernandez, Adrian Hernandez; mother, Sonja Swartz; brother, Michael Swartz; brothers-in-law: Tim Vaughn and Larry Vaughn (Mike); nieces: Christy Sorenson (Jeffrey) and Barbara Maxine Vaughn. He was preceded in death by his father, James Swartz, and a sister-in-law, Dawn Swartz.

There will a viewing at Starbuck-Lind Mortuary, 123 North A Street in Lompoc, on Friday February 5th from 3 to 7 p.m. Face masks and distancing will be required.

A Funeral Mass will be celebrated outside at La Purisima Catholic Church main school parking lot located at South I and West Olive on Saturday, February 6th at 11 a.m. Please bring your own chairs for seating and a sun hat. Masks and distancing are still required. Interment will be at a later date.

There will be a celebration of life on Saturday, February 13th at 1 p.m. The location yet to be determined.

Paul Thompson, 66

Died January 12, 2021.

Palm Desert High School, Palm Desert, CA

Food Services, Soccer Coach

Local news:

Youth soccer coach Paul Thompson coached players back in 2014 at the Hovely Soccer Park in Palm Desert.

It’s a place where for years he coached, sometimes multiple teams in a single season.

He impacted many lives including Mark Morocco.

Devastated, still crying, don’t know what to think,” said Morocco when talking about Thompson’s death.

Morocco says he first met coach Thompson on a little league baseball field in Cathedral City when Morocco was 7 years old.

He remained friends with Thompson until his death Tuesday at a valley hospital.

Morocco says he was taking sandwiches every other week to Thompson, who was mostly staying at home since the pandemic began.

“They don’t make people like him anymore and they are hard to replace,” said Morocco.

Morocco says one of his favorite memories of Thompson happened last year, when the two joined a group of Los Angeles Dodgers fans giving food, clothing and blankets to homeless people on Skid Row.

Morocco says Coach Thompson once told him that the coach would like to have his name inscribed on a bench at Civic Center Park in Palm Desert and on a bench at Hovely Soccer Park.

At Palm Desert High School, Thompson worked full-time in food services.

A district representative says Thompson was a student favorite and sold food from a cart at lunch time.

Coach Pat Blackburn speaks fondly of Thompson, who also for years shot video of Aztec football games.

“When I think about him I think about giving, you know he just gave himself everyday,” said Blackburn.

Morocco says Thomson was single and did not have family in the area.

But those who knew him and who were touched by him consider the coach family.

“There is a lot of people in the community that are going to be heartbroken,” said Morocco.

Gabriel Arellano, 39

Died January 5, 2021.

Montebello High School, Montebello, CA

Football Coach

Local news:

This week the area lost a longtime assistant football coach who was described as having a big smile, big heart, and who would do just about anything for his players.

Gabriel Arellano, who was going into his third season as the receivers coach at Montebello High and who spent several years as an assistant at Rosemead High, died on Tuesday, Jan. 5 after contracting COVID-19. He was 39.

Arellano is survived by his wife, Rena, daughter, Lana, and son, Nathan, all of whom also contracted COVID-19, but recovered from it.

After spending just over a week in the hospital, Arellano lost his battle with the coronavirus that is raging through Los Angeles County and the rest of the country.

“I had so much respect for him,” Montebello football coach Pete Gonzalez said, “and this was so devastating for everyone that knew him.”

Arellano and Marc Paramo met in 2007 when both were assistant football coaches at Rosemead. Arellano was there when Paramo served as the Panthers’ head coach from 2012-16, and they remained close friends after Paramo stepped away from coaching to focus on teaching while Arrellano became an assistant at Montebello.

Paramo said he was devastated by the sudden loss of his good friend.

He recalled that they had a good laugh when Arellano called him on Dec. 15 to wish him a happy birthday. But soon after that, Paramo got the news he had always feared for his buddy.

“A couple days after my birthday I got a text message about him being in the hospital and (I) called one of his close friends and learned he had COVID,” Paramo said. “His whole family had gotten it. He went to the hospital on Saturday and by Monday he was on a ventilator.”

And a little more than a week later he was gone.

“Nobody knows how he contracted it,” Paramo said. “He was still working during COVID. He worked in a warehouse, but he was waiting for football to start again. But my buddy, he was always somewhat overweight, and we talked about his weight and he was working at it. But Gabe was one of my friends that I worried about the most. It’s just so heartbreaking.”

Gonzalez had been in touch with Arellano often in recent months as they waited for the high school football season to be allowed to start.

“He was a great coach, a great guy, a good people and players coach,” Gonzalez said of Arellano. “He had a good relationship with his players. He was a guy who was always laughing, but he held people accountable. He was a hard-working kind of guy, but really good with the players.”

Paramo was the one who told Gonzalez that he should hire Arellano as an assistant.

“When Marc moved on from coaching and I asked about coaches, he said this is the one guy (Arellano) that I truly recommend,” Gonzalez said. “It didn’t take me long to know why after getting to know him. He was a great addition and we’re going to miss him.”

A GoFund me account has been created to help Arellano’s family.

Arellano graduated from Schurr High and attended East Los Angeles College.

Paramo says Arellano liked to talk about picking off a pass former UCLA quarterback Cade McNown in a seven-on-seven game, which was sort of his claim to fame.

He also remembers the day he met Arellano when he joined Rosemead’s coaching staff in 2007. That season the Panthers went on play for a CIF-SS divisional title.

“He came to us excited as could be,” Paramo said. “He always had this huge smile and a gregarious personality. He always brought this positive energy, but if you pissed him off he was going to let you feel his wrath. He always had a great rapport with his athletes, and I can assure you he would have taken the shirt off his back for every single one of them. What he may have lacked in knowledge, he more than doubled in dedication and loyalty.”

Paramo said Arellano was there for him when his father passed away, and that he had a strong desire to get back into shape as his two kids played high school sports.

“He was super excited about his kids and the fact they were playing basketball,” Paramo said. “One is a sophomore and the other a junior at Montclair High School. He just bought his first home a few years back in Montclair and just put a pool in. He was super excited and proud. He was a devout Dodgers fan, Lakers fan, 49ers fan, and Bruins fan.

“I am going to miss him, I already do. He just had this ability to make you laugh. He was a support system for me and many others.”

Gonzalez and Paramo both repeated how important it is for everyone to stay vigilant with the health and safety precautions during the pandemic.

“I’ve always looked at it (COVID-19) with concern,” Gonzalez said. “I knew a couple guys early on that got it and passed away, so I always had a lot of concern with it. Right now we have a couple kids whose parents caught it. So all that matters to me is the health and safety of everyone’s families. That is the most important thing right now.”

Paramo admitted he hasn’t always been as cautious as he is now.

“With all the high tension, I do my best to stay in my lane,” Paramo said. “I feel we live in a time where nobody is tolerant of anybody. As I’ve gotten older, I went from being a hothead to being very understanding and tolerant. I’m not a scientist, not a doctor, and I’m one of the few to say I hated wearing masks in the beginning.

“But now, I follow all the rules. I wear a mask and wash my hands and do what they tell me, whether I like it or not. If someone in that field (doctors and scientists) that knows more than me and spent a lot of money on their education tells me what we should be doing, I’m going to do it.”

James Mercadante, 55

Pete Perez

Vikki Cha

Mark Swartz, 59

Michael Wilson, 35

Carole Lange, 73

Paul Thompson, 66

Gabriel Arellano, 39

Tom Laythe, 65

Nicholas Glover, 53