John Ernest Silva

“The Last Race”. John Ernest Silva, 95, took the final checkered flag and passed away peacefully on Saturday, April 6, surrounded by his loving family. John was born January 14, 1929, in Tracy, CA, to George and Isabel Silva and has lived in Tracy for 95 years. John was born in the tiny garage of his parent’s home on the 400 block of Beverly Place. John’s Grandparents immigrated from the Portuguese Azores Islands and worked on the dairies of the Central Valley, as did John’s parents before they moved to Tracy, with John’s father then working for the Southern Pacific Railroad. The family built their home on the corner of Tracy Blvd and Lowell where John and his siblings were raised.
In August 6, 1955, John married the love of his life Georgeann (Cooper). They resided and raised their four sons in Tracy.
John will be missed by his loving family and many friends. He leaves behind sons John (Karen) Silva, Ron (Cathy) Silva and Tim Silva, Tracy, and Tom Silva, Galt. John also leaves behind 13 Grandchildren, 10 Great-Grandchildren, and several nieces, nephews, cousins, and Godchildren, all of whom he adored.
John was preceded in his death by his wife of 62 years, Georgeann Silva, his parents, George and Isabel Silva, and siblings, George (Elsie) Silva, Getrude (Ray) Dana, and Mary Alves. He is also survived by his sibling Dolly Hiles.
John will be remembered best for his love and support of his family above all else. Whether it was raising his own family or spending time with his Grandchildren, Great Grandchildren, nothing brought more joy to John than being surrounded by his family.
John attended Tracy High School, graduating in 1947. John served 40 years in the California National Guard, the majority with the 118th Maintenance Company retiring from the 115th Area Support Group at the rank of Sergeant Major, and 32 years with the Stockton Combined Support Maintenance Shop. John began his career with the National Guard as Motor Pool Mechanic. A skill he was naturally gifted at. In 1961 he transferred to the Aviation unit in Fresno. One of John’s favorite stories was chasing a rabbit in a helicopter while stationed in Fresno, thus crashing the helicopter. Fortunately, no one, including rabbit, was hurt. Two years later he transferred back to Stockton where he remained the rest of his career eventually becoming an electronic technician and supervisor of the Signal Shop. He was also the First Sergeant of the118th for several years calling many a local Guardsman to formation. After retiring he was a regular at the retiree picnics at Micke Grove all the way up to last year.
John had a passion for cars and motorcycles. A few of his favorite cars were the ’49 Mercury he had when he was young, the ’69 Buick Riviera he had in his 40’s and ’78 Datsun 280 Z. He rode his Ariel and Triumph motorcycles with the Gear Jammers motorcycle club in Tracy. He continued to ride motorcycles into his ‘60’s. He and his Brother George were also members of the first car club in Tracy, the Thunder Jets.
John was an avid race car fan, having raced at local raceways back in the 1950s including Stockton’s 99 Speedway. John was followed by his eldest son John, who also raced cars on the local tracks sharing the same number (29) as his Father used. One of his happiest moments was when son John gave him the trophy dash trophy on Father’s Day after winning it the night before. John loved NASCAR and never missed watching a race on Sunday. His favorite driver was Jimmy Johnson.
John and his late wife, Georgeann, also loved traveling in their RV and were members of the Bounder “Kangaroos”. They traveled to many States in the U.S., including such memorable places as Yellowstone National Park, The Grand Tetons, The Alamo, Mt. Rushmore, Dodge City, to name a few. Their favorite place to travel was Pismo Beach, where they loved to spend time with their family and close friends. They also made many a trip to Yuma and Puerto Penasco in Mexico.
A Rosary will be held at Fry Memorial Chapel, 550 S. Central Avenue, Tracy, on Monday April 22 at 6:00 pm, with Visitation from 12:00-8:30 pm A Funeral Mass will be held on Tuesday April 23 at 11:00 am at St. Bernards Church, 163 W. Eaton Avenue, Tracy, with visitation from 9:00-10:30 am at Fry Memorial Chapel. A reception will be held following interment at the Portuguese Hall.
Chapel Services will be live streamed via his tribute page at www.frymemorialchapel.com for family & family friends unable to attend. An online guest book is also available for condolences and special messages to the family.
We would like to thank the staff at Sutter Tracy Hospital, Doctors Medical Center Modesto and Tracy Nursing and Rehab for the excellent care they gave him during his stay at each location. We would also like to thank Doctor Ian Pulliam for caring for John the last several years and Doctor Howard Allison who became John’s Cardiologist and personal friend sharing many a military story for several years right up until Doctor Allison retired. And Joelleen and staff at Fry Memorial Chapel for assisting with his final arrangements.
Donations (Memorial Contributions) can be directed to: American Diabetes Association, 1-800-DIABETES (1-800-342-2383), www.diabetes.org,
 

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