Alfonso Galvez

Alfonso Galvez, 93, of Bellefontaine, Ohio, passed away Monday, September 15, 2008, at Logan Acres Care Center in Bellefontaine. He was born in Puebla State in Southern Mexico March 6, 1915, a son of the late Enrique and Carmen Arquello Galvez. On April 1, 1946, he married the former Zelma N. Hertenstein and she passed away December 22, 2003. He also was preceded in death by three brothers and one sister.

Survivors include a son, Alan (Maria) Galvez of Bellefontaine; stepson, Tom (Cris) Henry of Winter Park, Florida; a granddaughter, Carrie (Robert) Reynolds; great-granddaughter, Annika Reynolds; step-grandchildren, Tom and Tim Henry; three great- step-grandchildren; and two sisters living in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

He came to the United States in 1943 as a “world war worker, to do what he could do to help the U.S. win the war.” He was among a large number of Mexican nationals who went to work in the railroad system here during a time when so many American men were abroad. He was an immigrant from Mexico in the mid 1940s and became a U.S. citizen in 1948. He worked for New York Central from April 1946 until he was laid off in 1956. After being laid off from the railroad, he worked for the A.J. Miller Co. until the firm closed in 1960. He then worked for the LeRoi Division of Westinghouse in Sidney and later was a civilian employee of the U.S. government working first for the 664th Air Base in Bellefontaine until it closed, and then for Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, where he retired in 1977.

After retirement, he taught conversational Spanish at the East Liberty Elementary School, without pay, for five years, because he enjoyed seeing youngsters learn. He also loved to play golf.

Gene Marine will conduct a graveside service at 11 a.m. Thursday, September 18, 2008, in the Bellefontaine Cemetery. No calling hours are planned.

Arrangements were handled by the staff of the Eichholtz Funeral Home in Bellefontaine.

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