RICHARD ORONA
After graduation, I joined the Navy to see the
world. I did a four year hitch and did get to see a
lot of the world. It was a great adventure and
wouldn't trade that experience for anything. After
that, I ended up in San Diego where I have a lot of
family and went to work in the construction industry
as a sheet Metal Worker, local 206. I did this for
37 years. I started as an apprentice and retired as
an Estimator/Project Manager. I had the good fortune
of working in such places as San Diego, Phoenix,
Algeria, Venezuela, and San Jose, CA.
I retired in the year 2000. We bought an RV and set
out to do some traveling. A few years ago, we
stopped in Deming to kill some time on our way to
Tucson. We're still here. We bought a house and
have been here about 5 years or so.
My mom and two sisters are still in Tucson as well as
most of my family. Mom is 91. I was widowed in 1980
and in 1999 we buried Elizabeth, my grand daughter.
I have 3 gorgeous daughters and a total of 10 grand
kids, including Elizabeth. In 1997 I married a
wonderful woman, Lyn. She too has 3 beautiful
daughters and one grand son. We love to tell people
we have 6 daughters just to watch their eyes roll
into the back of their head. We leave out the part
about her's and mine.
As for an education and career, that's pretty
mundane. Lyn taught me to enjoy the arts. She is a
multi facted artist and I am a Silversmith. We've
traveled to fine art shows with our art and enjoyed
success. A few years ago we did open an art gallery
in downtown Deming, but were unable to keep it
afloat. It is no longer in existence. It was great
fun, we learned a lot, and have no regrets.
I am very opionated but, I think I'll keep it to
myself for now.
Hobbies? Well our art is our hobby, I guess. We do
love the outdoors. We love going out into the desert
to explore and we do enjoy camping and fishing trips.
I've submitted my one good story which is about my
