Arcele

How do you measure the greatness of a man. Is it determined by what he did, what he built, who he met, his accomplishments, his education, his humor? He was many things to many people. As we honor his passing, this last week has been very challenging. Our family is saddened by his passing, but have found strength together. As we've prepared for the funeral and the reception following, it was comforting to see friends and family, old and new, come out to say goodbye.

It's during times like these that we reflect on our own lives and wonder what we can accomplish and how we can seek to leave the world a better place than when we found it. I've learned many things the last few days, things I didn't know about Arcele, I've also been reminded of many stories that had fallen to the back of mind and needed to be refreshed.
Here is Arcele holding Claudia, along with German holding Nate. He loved having the family together and seeing everyone have a great time. He was so excited and proud to be there fore Nate and Claudia. He spent many hours teaching Nate to play soccer and racquetball, two of his sports passions. Anytime I see a soccer ball, I think of Arcele passing the ball to and from Nate. He enjoyed attending Nate's first soccer lessons and was quick to jump in and help.

Arcele was also known by many as Cuco. Which as I understand means monster. Not sure how that came to be, but Nate loved Cuco. Seen above, they are sharing some sweet corn. I recall a story where Nate came back from spending the night at Aggie and Cuco's place. We asked where he slept and he said in Aggie's bed. When we asked where Cuco slept, he said the "other" bed. Cuco sacrificed the comfort of his bed to spoil his grandchildren and they knew it and loved it.
Here is Arcele examining Maria's engagement ring. These goggles have magnifying lenses in them to help see the fine details. Cuco had a set of these for Nate. Nate bent a pin in his digital camera and I told him we'd need Cuco's glasses to fix it. When we got to Aggie's house, he ran in and grabbed his pair and Cuco's pair to help see the bent pin. German stepped into Cuco's role and assisted Nate in fixing his camera.
Cuco was always willing to help someone fix things. I can't even remember all the times he's helped me fix something around the house. He'd drop whatever he was doing and quickly come over to assist. Ne never said no, he never complained, just jumped in and helped out. One particular project he helped with, I'll have the joy of remembering for many years to come. We have a wine area in our house that we wanted tiled. My friend had a tile saw, but I had never worked with tile before. Arcele came over and helped me tile the counter top. We cut the pieces together and then he showed me how to apply the tile cement and grout in between the tiles. Now, every time I open a bottle of wine for my dinner guests, I'll think of Cuco and his efforts to make my house more amazing.

Here is Arcele reading to raft down the North Fork of the American River. This is a section called the Chute, a class 5 rapid that was featured in the movie George of the Jungle.

The funeral service was bittersweet. Dani's singing of the Ave Maria was truly moving. I've only had the pleasure to hear her sing a few times, but I could feel the emotion in her singing and it brought tears to my eyes at how beautiful it was. The eulogies by Robert and German explained the life of Arcele. The stories were a mixture of fondness, sadness and joy. They captured the essence of Arcele and helped explain what an amazing person he was. While I heard stories of what a great teacher, father, husband & friend he was, it made me think that of a different analogy. In many ways, I think the best description for Arcele's career was as a gardener. He cultivated souls and help individuals flourish. He took the time to train and grow people, making them better people. He fertilized young minds and ensured that the future would be filled with amazing and talented people.


Another rafting photo. Great to see how happy he was to enjoy being in the outdoors with friends and family.

We miss you Cuco.