SAN DIEGO, Calif. – Edward Delgado passed away peacefully in his sleep at his home in San Diego on Thursday, Aug. 11 with his wife at his side.
Funeral services will be held at Good Shepherd Catholic Church in San Diego at 10 a.m. PDT on Wednesday, Aug. 17 and can be viewed virtually at https://www.goodshepherdparish.net/mass-streaming.
Edward was born on Dec. 23, 1931 in Torrington to Florencio and Epigmenia Delgado. As a young man, he enjoyed sports and was reputed to be quite a dancer. He joined the Marine Corps in 1951 and served as a drill instructor during the Korean War. Upon returning to Torrington, he began organizing pick-up baseball games in South Torrington, an activity that led to a chance meeting with Barbara Jefcoat in March of 1957. The couple married the following year.
Edward was perhaps best known as the head coach of the Torrington Little League Dodgers, a task he joyfully carried out every summer from 1971 to 1988, including two stints as head coach of the all-star team. He finished his career with four straight regular season championships (1 shared), a 32-game win streak that spanned across three seasons, and three city tournament championships, with his final season marred by a single loss.
By 1988, Edward had worked his way up to Shift Lead at the Couplamatic factory in Lyman, Nebraska and he had a home in South Torrington. Life was good. However, he noticed that, as each of his many children graduated from high school, they moved away. It was then that he decided to make the biggest gamble of his life. At the age of 56, he quit his job and moved his family to San Diego. Times were tough at first, but he eventually re-established himself and he worked for the Sony Corporation until his retirement in 2002. His gamble paid off. He spent his final years surrounded by his children and grandchildren. He will be missed.
Edward was preceded in death by his parents; his brothers, John and Joe; his sisters, Guadalupe, Dolores, Sadie, and Francis; and his grandchildren, Joshua and Jeremiah. He is survived by his wife, Barbara; his sisters, Isabel Barajas and Rose Zamora; his brother, Antonio; his children, Michael, Daniel (Dee Jay), Lori, Barbara, David, Robert (Ted), Kevin, Brian, Penny, Darren, Ryan, and Sean; his twenty-two grandchildren and four great grandchildren; as well as many nieces and nephews.
