Joseph

Avina

Joseph Anthony Avina lived a life that was full. Full of strength, full of love, and yes, full of struggle. He was a man who could not be reduced to any one chapter of his story, and the truth of his life deserves to be told in full: he stumbled, as we all do, but he also loved deeply, laughed easily, and left something of himself in the people who knew him.

Joe was built strong, a physically powerful man who spent his working life as a diesel mechanic, hands that could fix anything. He was equally at home under the hood of a car or out in the yard, where he kept a landscape (like himself) meticulously groomed. But underneath all that strength was a sensitive soul, a man who felt things deeply even when he didn't always show it. Growing up, he was an athlete through and through, playing baseball, football, and track, and that love of the game never left him. He went on to coach all three of his sons in baseball, passing down not just skill but resilience, patience, pride and his love for the Raiders.

Joe loved to dance. There was a groove in his heart that showed up in his feet, and anyone who saw him move knew there was joy in him that couldn't be contained. There was also nothing he enjoyed more than a day of fishing or backyard barbecues with family and friends that always ended in a dance party at the end of the night.

For the first twelve years of his children's lives, Joe was present, really present. He showed up, he coached, he danced with them, he shared a nighttime ritual of eating fruit together. Those were twelve good years, and they mattered. After that, his path changed course, and he drifted from his family, walking a different road than the one anyone expected for him. It would be dishonest to leave that out, and it would be just as dishonest to let it be the only thing said about him. We don't always walk a straight line to get where we're going, and with peace in our hearts, we know that even his winding path led him home to God in the end.

Joe was also a man of many friends, and he cared for every one of them deeply. He had a way of making the people around him feel like they mattered to him, because they did.

He is survived by his four children who carry forward the very best of him: Anthony (Brianna), Cody, Ryley, and Lindsay Avina. Together, they are his truest legacy. Each of them carries a piece of the very best of him: his strength, his heart, his sense of humor, his groove and his ability to love deeply. He may not have always had the chance to say it in words, but his capacity for deep love and real joy was there, and it lives on in each of his children. He is also survived by his loving family, mother Phyllis Avina-Berger, brother John Avina (Lauretta), sisters Kim Avina-Schmidt (Danny) and Kris Avina-Roscoe (Barry), as well as many nieces and nephews. He is preceded in death by his father, Norbert Avina.

Joe's children are, in every way that matters, his legacy: kind, big-hearted people putting good into the world. That is what he leaves behind, and it is enough. Rest easy, Joe.

Funeral services will be on Wednesday, September 2nd, 10am at St. Mary's Church, 11 First St. Gilroy, CA 95020