Pete J. Apodaca

Pete J. Apodaca was born in Sunrise, Wyoming on, April 17, 1937. He passed away on January 2, 2020, at HopeWest in Grand Junction, Colorado. He was 82 years old.
He attended school in Sunrise and graduated from Sunrise High School, where he enjoyed being part of the basketball team. After high school, he began his mining career at the Sunrise Mine. He married his wife, Ruby Santistevan, on October 20, 1959. With his young family in tow, he relocated to Leadville, Colorado, to work at the Climax Molybdenum Mine in 1963. He retired from Climax after 27 years of employment and remained in Leadville until relocating to Grand Junction in 2005. He and his loving, devoted wife, Ruby, celebrated their 60th wedding anniversary on October 20, 2019.
Pete loved his family deeply and bestowed his unique sense of humor to all who knew him. He shared many stories of his childhood in his later years of life. He wrote and published a book of short stories that captured his childhood memories on the family farm in Sunrise, Wyoming.
He is survived by his wife Ruby; his children LaiLoni Apodaca, Pete Apodaca Jr. (Sheli), Cecilia Apodaca (Steve), Yvonne Mondragon (Robbie), eight grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his mother, Margarita; his brothers, Alfred, Albert, Gus, and Lloyd; his sister, Jenny, and his son, Steve (Cecilia).

Pete also lovingly referred to as, “POPS” was loved dearly by his family, and they miss his presence in their daily lives.