Pedro

Gomez

Pedro Gómez Ascencio, 84, of Hollister, CA and Jacona, Michoacán, México, passed away on Monday, February 9th, 2026, surrounded by the love of all 29 members of his immediate family.

Pedro was born April 14th, 1941 in El Nopalito, Michoacán, México to Carlos Gómez Cervantes and Rita Ascencio González.

Though Pedro only had a first-grade education, he was an avid reader, favoring his beloved Bible, religious writings and the Spanish newspaper "Guía" which he had mailed from México to keep up with his hometown news. He was a whiz at math and consistently worked to improve his English.

In 1961, Pedro was selected by lottery to serve in the Servicio Militar Nacional of México from which he did with pride.

Immediately upon completing his service, he enlisted in the Bracero Program, an initiative between the USA and México which allowed Mexican workers to be employed in the USA to fulfill a labor shortage caused by the war.  As fate would have it, he was deployed to Salinas, CA, just a 40-minute bus ride to Watsonville where the love of his life, Evangelina had migrated to just a few months prior with her father Evaristo and sister Socorro.

After completing his assignment, Pedro returned to México.  Pedro and Evangelina continued their love story by mail and five years later, he asked for Evangelina's hand in marriage during one of her visits to Jacona.  They married, moved to California and raised eight children together in Hollister.

Pedro was a man of honor, and his work was sacred.  Family in tow, they picked almost every kind of fruit-bearing tree in Hollister and surrounding areas. He did the back breaking labor of laying irrigation pipes, cultivating fields, and pruning walnut and apricot orchards.  If you ever saw examples of his labor, you would agree they were works of art.  Later, Pedro would form sharecropping partnerships with local apricot farmers and, in the process, helped save his beloved orchards from suburban sprawl.

Pedro touched many lives beyond his family.  Known for his reserved nature, he was a great listener and gave words of advice and encouragement to anyone who needed it.  Pedro enjoyed staying busy and was often heard saying "There's always something to do."  For the last five years, he took up walking and could be seen daily at Brigantino Park, often before they officially opened, with his brother Carlos circling the dirt track.

Pedro is survived by his spouse of 60 years, Evangelina Gómez Cabrera, children: Pedro Gomez (Delia Silva), Beatrice Salinas (Jeff), Martha Acosta (Adolfo), Vicente  Gómez (Rosa Garcia), Monica (Duarte Luis), Elvia Dueñez (David), Leonor Perry (Jason) and Carlos Gómez.  He had 12 grandchildren: Pedro Gómez-Silva, Samuel Gómez-Silva, Matthew Acosta, Michael Acosta, Tomas Gómez, Marcos Gómez, Tristian Dueñez, Elias Dueñez, Anisa Perry, Lucas Salinas, Daniel Salinas, Natalia Salinas and was blessed this past October with his first great-grandchild, Elena Dueñez.

Pedro was preceded in death by both parents, sisters Alicia Gómez Ramirez and Elisa Gómez Linares.