[Congressional Record Volume 159, Number 37 (Thursday, March 14, 2013)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E304-E305]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                         HONORING JOHN J. SERPA

                                 ______
                                 

                            HON. JEFF DENHAM

                             of california

                    in the house of representatives

                        Thursday, March 14, 2013

  Mr. DENHAM. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to acknowledge and honor the 
life of a beloved leader in the San Joaquin Valley, John J. Serpa. 
Patriarch of the Serpa family, John passed away due to heart failure on 
March 5, 2013.
  John was born in 1925 at the family's ranch house in the wilds of 
Siskiyou County. The first son of immigrants Joseph Cardoza Serpa and 
Luduvina Texeira, John attended school in Etna at Mound School, one of 
California's disappearing one-room schools in the Scarface Hamlin Gulch 
area of the Scott Mountain Range. Even as a young boy, John's concern 
was always the welfare of this family. The Great Depression had swept 
through the country like wildfire, causing the family to lose its 
ranch, its livestock and its way of life. John's sense of family 
responsibility sent him to work driving a derrick for more fortunate 
neighboring ranchers. He earned 75 cents a day, which he gave his 
mother for groceries, although he himself was without shoes.
  The family moved to Stockton in 1936, when John's father learned of 
an opportunity to obtain ranching property there. John soon became his 
father's right-hand man in managing the family's holdings. He graduated 
from Stockton High School, where he excelled in sports and business 
curriculum. He enrolled at College of the Pacific (now University of 
the Pacific), and quickly became a member of the university's renowned 
football team under the guidance of its famed coach, Amos Alonzo Staff.
  When the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbor, John's classmates were drafted 
into the military to serve their country in World War II. Although he 
was a principal in running his father's ranch and qualified for 
exemption from the draft, John interrupted his education to enlist in 
the United States Marines. He was sent to boot training at the Marine 
Corps Depot in San Diego, California. After completing basic training, 
John was transferred from San Diego to the Asiatic Pacific Theatre, 
seeing action in the Philippines and Okinawa, where he was severely 
injured.
  When he returned home, John invested his military savings in ranch 
property that his father wanted to buy on Corral Hollow Road in Tracy. 
John loved law enforcement and soon left ranching to join the Tracy 
Police Department, where he quickly rose to the rank of Captain. He was 
an accomplished marksman, gun enthusiast, hunter and outdoorsman and 
spent his off-hours hunting elk with his brothers in the wilds of 
Idaho.
  In January of 1952, he married Dolores Azevedo, the mother of his 
children, whom he met when they both were members of St. Bernard's 
Catholic Church. She preceded him in death on March 17, 2007.
  A graduate of Delta College with emphasis on Police Science, John 
continued his law enforcement studies at San Jose State, UC Davis, 
Chabot College, Modesto Junior College, and Contra Costa Junior 
College. He also held an advanced certificate from California Peace 
Officers Standards and Training, as well as an NRA Lifetime Masters 
Shooters Certificate in the police combat category, under which he 
created and trained a police combat shooting team, winning many state 
championships.
  John retired from the Tracy Police Department after 20 years of 
dedicated service, during which he greatly advanced the department's 
training program. After retirement, John's interest in business and 
community service moved him to the city of Lathrop, where he invested 
in real estate and became a leader in civic activities. He served two 
terms on the San Joaquin County Grand Jury, one term as its Vice 
Chairman; served on the County Board of Zoning Adjustments and the 
Lathrop Planning Commission; served two terms on the board of the 
Lathrop County Water District; served on the Lathrop Advisory Committee 
and Lathrop City Incorporation Committee; and was a powerful voice in 
numerous municipal legislative hearings. He was a past president of the 
Interstate 5 Association and a past president of a number of community 
service clubs, including the Rotary, the Kiwanis, and the Lions Clubs.
  John received numerous honors and national recognition for his 
continuing involvement over three decades with the United States Marine 
Corps League. He was named Honorary National Past Commandant of the 
League at its national convention in Rochester, Minnesota--only the 
fourth time in the history of the Marine Corps League that a member has 
been granted that title.
  John is survived by his current wife of 27 years, Linda ``Lyn'' Ann-
Marie Serpa; his children Gaylene Serpa of Tracy, Michael Serpa of 
Galt, Paul Serpa of Manteca, and John

[[Page E305]]

Thomas Serpa of Lathrop; and stepchildren Scott Rosenquist, Kristen 
Wight, Wendy Frink, and Susan Rosenquist. Other survivors included 
grandchildren Nicole Vertar, Gregory Serpa, Marissa Serpa, Nicholas 
Serpa, Anthony Serpa, and Matthew Serpa; one great-granddaughter, Aria 
Serpa; 11 step-grandchildren and two step great-grandchildren; sisters 
Alma Carroll of San Francisco, Mary Compton of Fair Oaks and Margaret 
Buckingham of Cambria; and brother Edwin Serpa of Tracy.
  Mr. Speaker, please join me in honoring John Serpa for his unwavering 
leadership, and recognizing his accomplishments and contributions. He 
will be remembered as a highly respected Tracy businessman, deeply 
involved in community and civic affairs, and well known for his efforts 
in bettering and developing services for veterans under the auspices of 
his beloved Marine Corps League.

                          ____________________