Obituary of Francisco R. Llamas

Francisco R. Llamas Sr. - known as Raymond - passed away Dec. 15, 2020, at HealthSource in Saginaw at age 92, after a long, full life. Born July 24, 1928, he married his one and only true love, Josephine Lopez, on May 18, 1949. Both were from Saginaw. They were a stunning couple. Josephine passed away in August of 2019. During their journey together, they raised seven daughters and three sons. Throughout life's ups and downs, they managed to hold tight to each other and make it through 70 years together. Raymond and Josephine leave to cherish their memories, children: Linda (Fred) Rangel, Victor (Donna) Llamas, Susan (Jesse) Gonzales, Sylvia (John) Fossen, Maria (Paul) Borle, and Dyanna (Bud) Fields; grandchildren: Tricia, Sonia, Rebecca, Nemo, Zane, Christina, Niklas, Tony, Yvonne, Lisa, Kristina, Raymond, Ciara, Alicia, Adam, Michael, Christopher, Devin, Cassandra, Lauren, Daniel, Michael, Kevin, Joshua, Broc, Jessica and Kaile; many great-grandchildren; daughter-in-law, Kristy Llamas; and sons-in-law: Larry Salinas and Rogers Gomez; siblings: Jose Rodriguez, Jovita De La Garza, Lucy Lozano and Estela Chavez. Raymond was preceded in death by his mother, Maria-Luisa Robles Ibarra, his father, Usebio Llamas; and his children: Irene Salinas, Francisco "Frankie" Llamas Jr., Angelita "Angie" Gomez, Mario A. Llamas; and a grandson, Gabriel Rangel; siblings: Julian Llamas, Ermelinda Aquinaga, Trinidad Ibarra and Pablo Ibarra. Raymond always worked hard and played hard. He took pride in everything he did, with Josephine by his side. Even after working 10 or 12 hour shifts a day, it was never beneath him to help mom at home. He would hand wash our cloth diapers on a washboard in the bathtub (a clothes washer came years later), clean windows, hand-wash dishes, and cut the grass. Our outings on Ojibway Island in Saginaw were the perfect way to spend a Saturday or Sunday with family and friends, which we did quite often. We can still smell the grilled food and hear the laughter. "Don't forget to bring the watermelon!" LOL. Ah yes, the good old days. Raymond proudly worked at General Motors for 42 years as a pattern changer, finishing his career at the Nodular Iron Plant in Saginaw. Dad was very popular at work. He made a lot of friends despite his limited English. He was especially popular when mom made him a batch of burritos to take to work. Dad would sell them. He always sold out, leaving coworkers eager for the next batch. He took pride in his job and rarely called in sick, if ever. For decades, he had perfect attendance. Back in the "good old days of GM," one year of perfect attendance would earn an employee the use of a new vehicle for two weeks. Raymond earned it for years until GM eliminated this perk. When he retired, GM added two years' pay for all the unused sick time he had accumulated and vacation he never took. Of course, that perk also disappeared a long time ago. Working all those years at GM enabled him to provide for all 12 family members. Dad always bought GM cars, from his 1957 yellow Chevrolet Impala - which he hand-washed every weekend and cleaned the inside windows twice a week to get the finger and nose prints off that we kids would leave after climbing over each other to see outside (LOL) - to his last vehicle: a grand daddy Cadillac STS. We can still smell the leather. He worked his butt off for that Caddy; he deserved it. Raymond and Josephine learned to cook together and perfected their burritos and tamales recipes. They loved to entertain and cook for their large family, friends and his former bosses. If we listen closely, we can hear Herb Alpert on the Magnavox hi-fi. This tradition continues today in our community. Our sister, Dyanna Llamas Fields, uses our parents' recipe to make burritos at the Scottish Inn on Gratiot in Saginaw. They always sell out. If you've ever eaten there and have been lucky enough to order some burritos before they were all gone, our parents would be happy that you had the chance to enjoy them. And our family is proud to know that our parents' recipe still brings smiles to others. Raymond also enjoyed baseball. He loved the Detroit Tigers. Even though he never made it to a game, he was a loyal fan, listening to them on the radio or watching their games on TV. We can still hear the names: Willie Horton, Bill Freehan, Mickey Lolich, Al Kaline, Jim Northrup, Norm Cash, Aurelio Rodriguez and many others, in the friendly, distinctive voice of Ernie Harwell. The good old days, they're "long gone" as Ernie would say, but the memories will stay with us forever. Rest in peace, dad. You deserve that, too. Raymond and Josephine were formerly members of St. Thomas Aquinas Church. MEMORIAL SERVICE: In keeping with Francisco's wishes, cremation has taken place. A Memorial Service will take place at 1:00 p.m. Saturday, January 9, 2021 at the Deisler Funeral Home, 2233 Hemmeter Rd. (off State). Rev. Fr. Francis Voris OFM Cap will officiate. VISITATION: Family and friends will gather at the Deisler Funeral Home, 2233 Hemmeter Rd. (off State) on Saturday, January 9, 2021 from 11:00 a.m. until the time of service at 1:00 p.m. In keeping with mandated ordinances and for the safety of the community, face masks are required, social distancing, and gathering guidelines will be observed. MEMORIALS: In lieu of flowers, those planning an expression of sympathy may wish to consider memorials to the East Side Soup Kitchen. Deisler Funeral Home is honored to serve the Llamas family. Please share your thoughts and memories with the family at the funeral home or through www.deislerfuneralhome.com.