John Haro
John Haro passed away from ALS on Sunday, September 5. He was 70 years old.
John was born on October 4, 1950 in Lindsay, CA to Clemencia and Nicandro Haro. The oldest of six children, he grew up surrounded by his large extended family at his grandmother’s ranch.
He graduated from Lindsay High School and went on to attend Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, where he was one of the first students to graduate with a degree in computer science. After a summer internship at IBM, he was recruited to work in the marketing department at their Santa Barbara office because he enjoyed working with people much more than coding. He would later go on to earn an MBA from Pepperdine University.
In 1975 he married his college sweetheart, Patricia Gonzales, at St. Raphael’s Catholic Church in Goleta. Ten years later they welcomed their daughter, Jessica, followed by their son Kenneth in 1988.
John shared his love of sports with his son, whom he coached in basketball, soccer and t-ball. He was also a Fiesta dad, having spent at least a decade carrying his daughter’s flamenco costumes and filming each of her performances. John used his marketing skills to contribute to the things his kids loved most by serving on the boards of the United Boys & Girls Clubs of Santa Barbara County and the Flamenco Arts Festival.
After a successful career that took him all over the world, he retired from Hewlett-Packard in 2017. Never one to sit still, he found the perfect retirement job pouring at Santa Barbara Winery, which allowed him to share his passion for wine while talking to new people every day.
In his free time he loved to golf, go wine tasting with his close friends from Cal Poly, and vacation with his family, especially in Maui.
John is survived by his wife, Pat Haro, and their children Jessica and Kenneth. He also leaves behind his father, Nicandro, brothers Peter and Ruben, and sisters Olivia, Susan and Silvia.
A rosary in his memory will be held Thursday, September 16th at 7:00 p.m. at Wellch-Ryce-Hayder on Sola Street in Santa Barbara. The funeral mass will take place at 10:00 a.m. on Friday, September 17th at St. Raphael’s Catholic Church in Goleta, followed by burial at Calvary Cemetery in Santa Barbara.
Donations in his memory can be made to The ALS Association Golden West Chapter.