Jose "Chepe" Roberto Loza

Jose Roberto Loza was born on January 13th, 1951 in Quelepa, San Miguel El Salvador. Born to Dorotella Loza and Rufino Palma Flores. As a baby his papa David came into the picture he grew up thinking it was his dad until around the age of 4 when he met his Papa Rufino whom he always described as a tall, strong, respectful man. He grew up with two brothers, and 5 sisters. One brother who passed in his youth. As the oldest child he always helped at home, and helped take care of his siblings which brought on his love for children. He always spoke about going out to the fields with his Papa David to grow crop or when his mom would give him money to go and pick up groceries running around with no shoes sometimes but that didn’t stop him. He’d even go out playing with his friends from school with no shoes on, but that was their normal. He only made it to school up to 6th grade but that didn’t stop him. Around the age of 17 his mom Dorotella wanted him to go to the academy to learn a trait but Jose took his own route, he was brought on as an apprentice at an auto collision repair shop. Opening so many doors for him.

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As he worked at the shop he learned and made his own money, helping his mom and dad at home but it also allowed him to buy his own clothes and spend on himself, he always walked around looking nothing but presentable.

At the beginning Of the 70’s Jose found a job in Santiago de Maria where he had his first child Roberto Palacios in March of 1972.

Jose never really had a hard time finding a job or making friends, so when he got on that bus in El Salvador going to Costa Rica he found himself at a new auto collision repair shop. Jose made friends, he tried new foods, visited new places and even had another son, Roy. His traveling didn’t stop there though, he continued his journey and ended up in Panama again finding a new auto collision repair shop to work at and new foods to try, more friends to make. Each one he would leave them with a smile on their face, knowing how kind and generous he was and how willing he was to help a friend out and learn from his experiences. 1978 came around and he had his third son, Ramon.

Circa 1990 he met his now wife Rosa in Los Angeles California. They would look at one another and flirt until one had the courage to go on a date. Rosa had two children Armando and Michelle, who grew to love him seeing as he would buy them all different types of food they liked. It took Michelle a little longer to warm up to him, but despite that he continued to be himself and won her over. Then June 1993 rosa and Jose had a baby boy Which they named Brian who turned out to be the exact replica of him. Throughout the relationship he continued to work at auto collision shops, he loved to spoil his family, sending money to his mother in El Salvador. Helping rosa bring her family over to California, going on trips to universal studios and Disney land. Jose always loved going on road trips and driving, he especially loved stopping at rest stops, seeing what was around to eat. He really enjoyed foods. Jose and Rosa grew a family together, in 2000 they had me, Saraih. He wouldn’t believe my gender until he saw me at birth, he couldn’t believe he was having a girl after having boy after boy. The family continued to grow, and the older children grew up so Jose and Rosa decided it was best to move to Virginia.

In 2002 he moved his family down to Virginia. We first stayed with His brother who has the same exact, gasping for air laugh. He then found a home in Arlington, Virginia. While In Arlington Michelle had her first kid Nariyah. Nariyah made everyone happy and excited to be around a baby, she lit Jose’s days up. From Arlington he moved his family down to Chantilly, Virginia. There he spent 15 years. In those years he worked in different Auto collision shops, until he finally stayed at Maaco. All around Chantilly he found friends left and right, always doing side jobs. Everytime we stopped at a gas station or went into a store in Chantilly there would be at least one person saying “hey Roberto” or him greeting someone “My friend!”

Jose lived a long happy, traveling life where he met new people, learned life lessons. Loved people, had children and was even made into a great grandpa in 2020. He loved with everything he had, he gave help to those in need and never allowed us his children go to take things for granted. Always told us “are you gonna eat that? You know there’s children in other places that don’t get to eat” before his heart attack in 2015 he ate everything and enjoyed foods. Even after his heart attack he came back strong and worked day in and day out, he was strong willed, he didn’t give up and he was the hardest working person. He dedicated his life to God, and God blessed him with a big family, grandchildren who loved him grandchildren who every-time they saw him ran to him “grandpa” “papi” Nariyah’s favorite “papi Gallo!” He was never alone and that is because who he was as a person, caring and kind hearted. Never went into another persons home empty handed, and always trying to make everyone happy even if it was with Dad jokes, he never failed to make you feel loved and welcome.

I love you dad, you will forever be my first love, my biggest Role model, my favorite person, and my whole world. Thank you for being such an amazing dad, thank you for showing me how I am meant to be treated, thank you for giving us a good example of what type of people we should be, thank you for always sitting me down and talking to me, thank you so much for giving me so much in life. I will always make sure that Delilah, Mikey, Liam, Nariyah, Aliza, Eli, and all your future grandchildren know who you were and how much you genuinely cared for them, your stories will live through us, you have impacted everyone you came across and everyone has nothing but positive things to say about you. God chose to have you with him now, The lord knew you needed to rest, you worked so hard to give us all a perfect life. Thank you dad. We love you. Watch over us, our guardian angel