Uriel P Castellanos

May 18, 1946 - September 23, 2024

Uriel P. Castellanos, age 78, of Winnemucca, Nevada passed away on Monday, September 23, 2024, in San Diego, California.
Uriel was born in Trojes, Michoacan, Mexico on May 18, 1946.
Throughout his youth, he worked with his family farming their land and raising cattle.
He was a member of the International Federation of Agricultural Producers and the National Military Service before emigrating to the United States in the late 1960s.
His first work in the United States was as a field hand in California. Soon thereafter he secured a job as a ranch hand on the Bengoa family's Kings River Ranch in Orovada, Nevada.
During his time working with the Bengoas, he would come to Winnemucca once a month on payday for some weekend rest and relaxation.
During one of those weekends, in December 1972, he was having dinner at the Star Broiler where he met the hostess, Maria Hernández.
Two months later they were married and shortly thereafter settled together in Winnemucca. Uriel's days as a professional ranch hand were over because Maria was too much of a city girl for ranch living, but he loved farming and ranching throughout his life and was eventually able to acquire his own "back forty" where he raised various livestock and kept an alfalfa patch into his late 70s.
And despite marrying a city girl, Uriel and Maria spent the next 51 years together through thick and thin.
During his working years, Uriel worked in just about every occupation available in a mining, ranching, and gaming town. Whether it was ranching, farming, dishwashing, drilling, pipe fitting, welding, operating heavy equipment, or truck driving, he knew his way around how to make a living in Winnemucca.
His work ethic was tremendous, and it was perhaps the thing he most valued and was proud of.
He would always say with great emphasis, "I came to this country to work!"
Uriel also loved people. He was a master storyteller and often held court telling stories and jokes about the old country, the new country, interesting folks he'd met along his travels, and his adventures.
He had an entire repertoire of Spanglish words and phrases, mostly of the blue kind, and he was what the old-timers refer to as a "card" because of his ability to amuse people and make them laugh.
One of his favorite stories was about the time he was traveling north in a bus from Nogales, Mexico to Phoenix, Arizona in the early 70s wearing a brand-new Stetson cowboy hat.
A border agent sat down next to him and asked, "Where are you from?" Uriel replied "Phoenix." The border agent then asked, "Where are you headed?" Uriel replied, "Phoenix." The border agent continued by asking, "What's your name?" "Phoenix" says Uriel, and with that the border agent laughed and said, "OK cowboy, I'm taking you back to Nogales!"
His favorite haunt was the Model T Casino, which everyone considered his office as in, "Where's Uriel?" "Oh, he's at the office."
He loved starting his day there for an early breakfast and would usually come back for several cups of coffee at least one more time during the day.
Uriel is survived by his son Rafael Castellanos and his wife, Angie, and their sons Ray and Dylan of San Diego, California.
He also leaves behind a brother, Ramón Castellanos (Consuelo), sisters Carmen (Doroteo) Pulido, Lupe (Jaime) De La Mora, Marta (Sostenes) Gonsalez, Mirella (Jose) Rodriguez, and Yolanda (Jose Luis) Casas of Sunnyside, Washington, sisters Elena (Ramón) Munguia and Marina Castellanos of Mexico, daughter Rosa Castellanos, son Marco Castellanos, and numerous nieces and nephews.
Uriel was preceded in death by his parents, Francisco Castellanos (1982) and Consuelo Castellanos (1996), brothers Roberto (Jesús) Castellanos (1981) and Arturo (Eva) Castellanos (2014), and sister Maria (Ramiro) Gutierrez (2021).
Uriel will be greatly missed.
A viewing and rosary will be held for him on Monday, October 7th at 5 p.m. at the Sonoma Funeral Home in Winnemucca.
A funeral mass will be held at St. Paul's Catholic Church on Tuesday, October 8th at 11 a.m., with the interment to immediately follow at the Winnemucca Cemetery.