PRESILIANO SANDOVAL Jan. 21, 1925 – Dec. 8, 2023

On Friday, December 8, 2023, Presiliano Sandoval passed away peacefully at his home in Truchas, NM.

Presiliano lived his entire life in Truchas, and his passing represents the end of an era, a loss of traditional life and language, a paradigm shift for his family and community.

He was born in Truchas on January 21, 1925, at the home of his parents, Pablita and Apolinar, a mere 400 yards away from the home he and his first wife Dora built and where he lived much of his nearly 99 years.

Presiliano saw Truchas grow from a village of farmers and weavers into a movie set and tourist destination along the “High Road to Taos.” His family lived through the Depression, but he said they never really noticed, as they were so poor to begin with.

Pres attended school in Truchas and Española, and like his mother, he was a life-long advocate of the importance of education. During World War II, his older brother, Benigno, was lost at Guadalcanal, and Pres himself served in the Army. He went to college at Regis College in Denver, but he gave up his dream of becoming an accountant to return home where he drove the school bus so his younger siblings could go to school in the Valley.

Presiliano lived through the hippie invasion of Truchas, befriending the hippies and helping them survive through the real practicalities of “living off the land.” He drove the school bus for the Española Public Schools for almost two decades and later worked and managed the main warehouse for the Los Alamos Public Schools until his retirement.

Throughout his life, Pres irrigated and hoed unending fields of corn and beans, dug countless post holes, strung miles and miles of barbed wire fencing, and always had fencing “grampas” in his pechera pockets; he cut, split, and stacked endless cords of leña. He harvested a “zillion” acres of hay cut by hoz (hand sickle) or horse drawn sickle, collecting the hay with the use of a guadaña, then storing it in the barns by pitchfork; later in his life, he modernized to using a tractor, swather, and baler. He raised cattle, pigs, and chickens.

Pres deeply loved us, his children, and is known as “Grampa Pres” to so many. A grin always greeted little visitors when they arrived. He played “topes” with the babies and “pepis y gallo” with the bigger kids, and he let them run wild around the barns but always knew if they were being “traviesos,” and he regaled them with stories of brujas and la llorona. He taught generations of us how to clean regaderas, maintain las acequias, split leña, and stack bales. He loved to sing and dance, and he always enjoyed an occasional respite day of fishing in the riitos and camping in our mountains. And he tried to make sure that we were never late for Mass.

Though he did it quietly, many knew Pres as a person of faith, prayer, and service to the church, ministering in multiple capacities, among them mayordomo, sacristan, eucharistic minister, usher, and music leader.

Presiliano was a true Trucheño. He was the man who was always there if you needed help to sweep the snow, if your cows got away, you were stuck in a ditch or needed a tow, you were cold and needed leña for the night, or you needed a new roof or a plumbing fix or carpentry work. He was there if you needed a hand with your hay or your irrigation duties or a meal to eat, or if you had a flat tire or were lost “on the way to Taos.” He was precise in his work and planning and his motto was “If you are going to do something, do it right.” He took care of his family and everyone he met.

As one of our family declared, “He was the happiest, most friendliest, warmest, most helpfulest, inclusive and accepting man I’ve ever met.” A 3-year-old great grandson described him as “a really good guy.” We will miss him.

Pres spent the last 25 years of his life with his beloved wife Joanne, who selflessly cared for him in his final years.

Presiliano is predeceased by his son Louis; his parents, Pablita and Apolinar Sandoval; his sisters Celsa, Mathilda, and Sister Rosina; his brothers Benigno, Elizario, and Adelaido.

He is survived by his wife, Joanne Dupont Sandoval; his children: daughter Jessica, son Anthony and wife Mary, son Peter and wife Cindy, daughter Joyce, son Louis’s wife Nancy, and son Jeffrey; by 20 grandchildren, many great grandchildren and great-great grandchildren; the mother of his children, Dora Nelson; his sisters Amelia, Lorraine, Rosalie, and Fabie; and his brother Jose Domingo; as well as innumerable relatives and friends.

Rosary will be prayed for Presiliano on Wednesday, December 20, 2023, at DeVargas Funeral home in Española, NM. Public visitation will be at 6:30 pm with the rosary at 7:00 pm.

Funeral mass will be held on Thursday, December 21, 2023, at Holy Family Parish Church in Chimayo, NM, at 10:00 am. Burial will follow at Los Llanitos Cemetery in Truchas.

If you would like to make a donation in Presiliano’s name, please consider Holy Family Parish in Chimayo or the Nuestra Señora del Rosario Foundation in Truchas.