Zavala's kindness and affable personality were unmistakable

Some days life delivers a blow that can floor you in a split second

and also takes you back to your childhood. 

Yours truly and various other people that I grew up with, to name a

few, in the central part of Napa, CA, were reminded of such when

learning on Wednesday, March 24, of the passing of our childhood

friend, Ricardo Zavala (46). 

Zavala had been reported missing since Thursday, March 18,

and according to a report in the Santa Rosa Press Democrat, the

authorities discovered Zavala’s body about 30 yards offshore

from Duncan’s Landing, which is in Bodega Bay, CA. 

According to Zavala’s obituary, which was released in the online

version of the Napa Valley Register on Tuesday, there will not be

a service for Zavala because Napa County is under the shelter

in place directive based on the Coronavirus. 

Zavala is survived by his parents (Luis and Obdulia), his five older

brothers (Jose Luis, Roberto, Fernando, Raul, Miguel) along with

nephews and nieces. 

Zavala graduated from Napa High and later attended school at

Napa Valley College. Safeway, Target and Walmart were among

the places that he worked. Zavala had various interests which

included but were not limited to listening to music (specifically 70s,

80s, 90s), watching movies and TV shows, reading, going to the

park and the beach. The lifelong Napa resident, however, spent

much time and energy caring for his parents. 

I’m not going to make assumptions on how Zavala became missing

or how his life was taken so suddenly because I don’t think there is

a place for conjecture. The sadness of Zavala’s passing is

immutable and brought back memories of yesteryear for me,

most specifically the 1980s. For openers, Ricardo and I had the

same birthday but one year apart. There was an instant connection

as fellow Leos. 

My family spent the first 15 years of my life (1972-1987) in a Central

Napa neighborhood. After we had purchased property and built a

home in North Napa, we moved out of that neighborhood. Ricardo

and I only crossed paths a handful of times as adults but I could tell

that he was the same kind and affable person he was a kid with a

great sense of humor. 

Ricardo and Miguel, who is three years older, are the two Zavalas

that I enjoyed a friendship with along with a few others. I became

acquainted with the Zavalas through the Douglas kids (shoutout

Paul, Brian and Julie). The times that I enjoyed in that neighborhood

that involved Ricardo (known as Ricky when we were kids) and

several others included but were not limited to combination birthday/

slumber games, neighborhood plays and from time-to-time sports

activities. 

Oh, those neighborhood plays thanks to brother Miguel (known as

Michael when we were kids), who was the mastermind behind

orchestrating the masterpiece. I’m not surprised that Miguel

became a theatre arts teacher. The one that I most fondly remember

was the Wizard of Oz with the Douglas family’s backyard being the

grand stage. With various people throughout the neighborhood in

the audience being supremely entertained, that stage was our

version of Broadway. As for Ricardo, his performance as the Tin

Man took a backseat to no one. 

Perhaps the most extended conversation I had with Ricardo as

an adult came in 1998. I had just moved back to California from

Lincoln, NE, a few months earlier. I attended a service for a former

school-mate of mine at Justin-Siena High, Steve Szymanski. I looked

at the program and it listed Ricardo Zavala as one of the speakers.

I got to thinking, “Is that the same one that I grew up with in Central

Napa?” 

Sure enough, when he got to the altar it was the same guy. He was

very tall and stately looking. I did not get a chance to speak to him

at the reception so when I got home, I picked up the phone book

and found the number to the same Zavala home I remember

visiting numerous times as a kid. Pick up the phone book? Oh,

that sounds so 1998. I called him and we talked for about 45

minutes. I mainly wanted to compliment Ricardo on his speech

because it was so heartfelt. I remember him saying, “It means a lot

that you called.” After the conversation, I thought to myself, “He is

the same quality human being I knew as a kid.”

The lasting image that I have of Ricardo and every kid in the

neighborhood is that I feel like I knew them as kids but not the

adults they became. 

The fact that he devoted an enormous amount of time caring for

his parents also speaks to the person he became. Though I’m not

a caregiver, I have parents in their 80s that require much

assistance. I have no doubt such a task is a huge undertaking. 

It is often said, “you only live once.” That statement could not be

further from the truth because you die once but live everyday.

Ricardo’s kindness and affable personality were unmistakable. 

Ricardo, I’m in no hurry to get where you are going but I know we’ll

meet again someday. Perhaps, a Wizard of Oz encore might be in

order.