Amherst, Victor E Guevara (Cuco) passed away peacefully with his loving wife Gloria Guevara (Goggie) by his side in the early morning of February 23, 2017. Victor was born on July 24, 1939 in the beautiful town of Patillas, Puerto Rico to Virginia Colon and Juan Guevara. Victor had three siblings; Juan Guevara (Johnny), who passed away in 1982, Pedro Guevara and Virginia Guevara live in Puerto Rico and travelled to Amherst to be by his side recently.

When Victor was 13, he fell in love with Gloria, who was 12 at the time. While at a dance celebrating the patron saint of their hometown Patillas, a famous band played “Compadre Pedro Juan” and Victor gathered the courage to go up to Gloria and ask her to dance. Thankfully, she agreed to dance and this marked the beginning of their everlasting love and commitment to each other. Years later, they married and had two children, Marta and Gustavo Guevara, who is married to Kim Guevara. They now have 5 grandchildren; Tatiana, who is married to Andrew Moylan, Alyssa, who is married to Michael Santos, Gabriel, who is married to Yaritza Scott, Javier and Olivia and 2 great-granddaughters (Chloe and Lorelai). Victor and Gloria were sweethearts who were married for over 56 years!

Family was everything to Victor and he gave them all unconditional love. He lost his father when he was 5 and was raised by his mother and grandmother Guadalupe, who were loving, hard working women, devoted to him and his siblings. According to his mother, Victor loved learning and was always an inquisitive child. She encouraged Victor, her second son, to study to be a priest and sent him to the Manresa Seminary, in the town of Aibonito, Puerto Rico. This experience opened his eyes and mind to the love of learning about other cultures, music, languages, history, sports and many more beautiful things. Victor cherished this experience his entire life.

Victor loved people and he treasured his friends. He knew people from all over the world, from all walks of life and adored having conversations in person or over the phone with those he knew and loved. He was genuinely interested in getting to know everyone he came in touch with and always greeted them with enthusiasm and infinite positivity. There was no such thing as a short errand because he spoke with everyone he came in contact with and left them feeling better than when they started the conversation with him. He was always eager to lend a helping hand and did so without expecting anything in return. He never judged people, choosing to highlight their virtues and potential for greatness.

Victor spoke often about the great teachers he had, in addition to his family, and became interested in following in their footsteps. When his family moved to Amherst in 1974 for his wife to pursue a doctoral degree, Victor decided to study Spanish and Education at the University of Massachusetts. He worked as an adult literacy educator and a high school teacher. He retired early from Holyoke High School, following an illness, but he continued being a teacher to many. He kept in touch with countless students and remained a part of their lives and that of their loved ones.

Victor served his community in many ways, especially as an ambassador for the Puerto Rican people and culture. He was committed to the study of the island’s history and people, as well as the Spanish language. He followed island politics daily and stayed close to popular culture in Puerto Rico. He treasured his daily conversations about the political reality of the island with many and made it a point to read the newspapers from the island daily and watch the evening news. Everyone who knew him quickly learned about his love of Puerto Rico and his devotion to his home town and being “Patillense”.

Victor was a lover of music…all music. He attended as many music concerts, lectures and celebrations as he could. He loved having the opportunity to enjoy all of the cultural events available in his community and was an avid supporter of the Arts in general. He was a fixture in all of the art and music venues in our area and prided himself in enjoying all performances. He was a champion volunteer, devoted collaborator and loyal supporter of Public radio for over 30 years. He enjoyed working alongside his friends who hosted different shows, especially “Tertulia” on WFCR.

Victor loved to travel and did so all over the world. He was in awe of previous civilizations and loved exploring and learning. He was an avid reader and writer who revered words. He wrote many letters to the editors of local and Puerto Rican newspapers and awaited responses from the community with great excitement. He was never bored and refused to understand the concept.

Victor was a man who lived life to the fullest and was grateful for everything he was able to experience and enjoy. His enthusiasm and never ending optimism led him to dislike traditional wakes and funerals, always choosing to remember loved ones in the best of times. Following his wishes, his family has chosen to celebrate his life with the friends and community members he loved. Please join us for an afternoon of food, music and memories on March 11, 2017 at the Unitarian Church in the center of Amherst starting at 1:30 p.m.