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Roberto Garcia Cardenas, 72, of Fontana, a deacon at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rancho Cucamonga, was killed in a traffic collision Friday, Nov. 29.
Roberto Garcia Cardenas lived to help others, in his church and in his family.
“He was always out helping or doing something regarding church or retreats or just with his grandchildren,” said Sara Rojas, a close family friend of more than 10 years who thought of Cardenas as a grandfather.
Cardenas’ family and the community at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rancho Cucamonga, where he served as a deacon, is in mourning following Cardenas’ death Friday, Nov. 29, during a rollover collision that also injured his wife and daughter.
Cardenas, a 72-year-old Fontana resident, had spent Thanksgiving with his son in Hesperia, and he was driving back home with other family members Friday afternoon.
According to Fontana police, a vehicle trying to pass Cardenas on the dirt shoulder of Sierra Avenue lost control, causing Cardenas to broadside it. Cardenas’ van flew off the road and landed upside-down in a field. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Cardenas’ wife and daughter remained in the hospital Tuesday, Dec. 3, with multiple injuries, Rojas said. Four others in the vehicle suffered minor injuries.
The other driver was not injured. Fontana Sgt. Doug Imhof said Tuesday that the investigation could take at least two weeks and that no one has been arrested or cited.
Rojas said Cardenas’ son-in-law was handling funeral arrangements, along with the legal issues surrounding the accident.
Sacred Heart held its first rosary Saturday, Rojas said, with some 400 people gathering to remember Cardenas.
“People were crying; they were saying it was such a tragic loss because of who he was,” she said. “It was just unbelievable to hear he has died of a car accident.”
“He was really outgoing and open to life,” Rojas said.
She also fondly recalled Cardenas’ culinary skills. She said he would cook different things and go around telling people to test what he had made.
When asked what Cardenas would be most remembered for, Rojas asked her parents what they thought, and they all said the same thing.
“He was always willing to help anybody,” she said. “It was always everybody before himself.”
Rojas laughed as she recounted a birthday tradition Cardenas would repeat every year. She said she could always expect a phone call from him where he played a clown song that she thought was annoying.
She said it was his way of saying he loved her and wishing her a happy birthday.
“He (didn’t) mind going out of his way or pulling strings to get what others needed,” she said.
Cardenas graduated from Pasadena City College in 1977 and then started an automobile repair business now run by his son.
Cardenas was ordained as a deacon in 1996. A Roman Catholic deacon is an ordained minister who serves the community, assists priests and can preside at weddings, funerals and baptisms.
Cardenas served as a deacon at a number of parishes, including St. Mary’s in Fontana, Christ the King in San Bernardino, St. Charles Borremeo in Bloomington and St. Peter and St. Paul in Alta Loma. He had been at Sacred Heart for nine years, and led the church’s Hispanic ministry.
The church pastor, Father Benedict Nwachukwu-Udaku, praised Cardenas for his ability to integrate members of the Hispanic community into the church, yet allow them to retain their cultural identity.
Nwachukwu-Udaku described Cardenas as an advocate for social justice who loved his church, family and community.
“He loved children so well,” Nwachukwu-Udaku said.
“He was always out helping or doing something regarding church or retreats or just with his grandchildren,” said Sara Rojas, a close family friend of more than 10 years who thought of Cardenas as a grandfather.
Cardenas’ family and the community at Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Rancho Cucamonga, where he served as a deacon, is in mourning following Cardenas’ death Friday, Nov. 29, during a rollover collision that also injured his wife and daughter.
Cardenas, a 72-year-old Fontana resident, had spent Thanksgiving with his son in Hesperia, and he was driving back home with other family members Friday afternoon.
According to Fontana police, a vehicle trying to pass Cardenas on the dirt shoulder of Sierra Avenue lost control, causing Cardenas to broadside it. Cardenas’ van flew off the road and landed upside-down in a field. He was pronounced dead at the scene.
Cardenas’ wife and daughter remained in the hospital Tuesday, Dec. 3, with multiple injuries, Rojas said. Four others in the vehicle suffered minor injuries.
The other driver was not injured. Fontana Sgt. Doug Imhof said Tuesday that the investigation could take at least two weeks and that no one has been arrested or cited.
Rojas said Cardenas’ son-in-law was handling funeral arrangements, along with the legal issues surrounding the accident.
Sacred Heart held its first rosary Saturday, Rojas said, with some 400 people gathering to remember Cardenas.
“People were crying; they were saying it was such a tragic loss because of who he was,” she said. “It was just unbelievable to hear he has died of a car accident.”
‘ALWAYS WILLING TO HELP’
Rojas said Cardenas was compassionate and cared deeply for other people. She remembers Cardenas always saying “Buenos dias,” regardless of what time of day it was.“He was really outgoing and open to life,” Rojas said.
She also fondly recalled Cardenas’ culinary skills. She said he would cook different things and go around telling people to test what he had made.
When asked what Cardenas would be most remembered for, Rojas asked her parents what they thought, and they all said the same thing.
“He was always willing to help anybody,” she said. “It was always everybody before himself.”
Rojas laughed as she recounted a birthday tradition Cardenas would repeat every year. She said she could always expect a phone call from him where he played a clown song that she thought was annoying.
She said it was his way of saying he loved her and wishing her a happy birthday.
“He (didn’t) mind going out of his way or pulling strings to get what others needed,” she said.
LED HISPANIC MINISTRY
Cardenas was born in Guadalajara, Mexico and was the oldest of nine children, according to the Diocese of San Bernardino. The family moved to the United States in 1962. He married Maria “Cuca” Refugio in 1964. They had had a son, Roberto, and two daughters, Maria and Martha.Cardenas graduated from Pasadena City College in 1977 and then started an automobile repair business now run by his son.
Cardenas was ordained as a deacon in 1996. A Roman Catholic deacon is an ordained minister who serves the community, assists priests and can preside at weddings, funerals and baptisms.
Cardenas served as a deacon at a number of parishes, including St. Mary’s in Fontana, Christ the King in San Bernardino, St. Charles Borremeo in Bloomington and St. Peter and St. Paul in Alta Loma. He had been at Sacred Heart for nine years, and led the church’s Hispanic ministry.
The church pastor, Father Benedict Nwachukwu-Udaku, praised Cardenas for his ability to integrate members of the Hispanic community into the church, yet allow them to retain their cultural identity.
Nwachukwu-Udaku described Cardenas as an advocate for social justice who loved his church, family and community.
“He loved children so well,” Nwachukwu-Udaku said.
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