My West Side Story - the Life of John Florez

As a weekly columnist for the opinion section of the Deseret News from 2003 until his death in 2016, my late husband, John Florez, wrote about the empathy and compassion that guided his life. Using those articles as the primary source, along with letters, emails, notes, and some excerpts and articles written about him, I compiled a memoir of his early years. John had a gift of making the past pertinent to our present-day lives. A "poor Mexican kid with missing teeth, striped bib...
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As a weekly columnist for the opinion section of the Deseret News from 2003 until his death in 2016, my late husband, John Florez, wrote about the empathy and compassion that guided his life. Using those articles as the primary source, along with letters, emails, notes, and some excerpts and articles written about him, I compiled a memoir of his early years. John had a gift of making the past pertinent to our present-day lives. A "poor Mexican kid with missing teeth, striped bib overalls, and worn-out shoes," John wanted all kids to believe they could make it, whatever their circumstances, and for everyone to be treated with dignity. John describes immigrant life in Salt Lake City beginning in the 1930s, and paints a vivid picture of the Denver & Rio Grande Railroad, WWII and local war efforts, Salt Lake's west side schools, high school and football, Pioneer Park, and the Guadalupe Mission. Most importantly, John weaves throughout his stories the empathy and compassion his parents instilled in him as a child. He carried those values throughout his life from his railroad car home on Salt Lake's west side to the halls of Washington, D.C., making a difference where he could.