Ruben Leija, Sr.

Ruben Leija Sr., 74, passed away at home in Ivanhoe, California on October 12, 2020. Ruben was born on October 4, 1946, in Blytheville, Arkansas to Daniel and Anastacia Leija. He spent his childhood growing up in Morehouse, Missouri. In 1965, expecting to be drafted soon, he proudly joined the United States Marine Corps and was assigned to Camp Pendleton. After graduating from special training in 1966, he was assigned to the 1st Battalion 1st Marines and deployed to Vietnam as a Private. He was wounded in 1967 and awarded his first Purple Heart. In 1969, Private Leija was promoted to Corporal and signed on for another tour of duty in Vietnam as a squad leader. After serving his two tours in Vietnam, he returned to Camp Pendleton to guide and train his fellow soldiers. He felt that his experience could mean the difference between life and death. He was promoted to Staff Sergeant and honorably discharged in 1975 from the Marine Corps with two Purple Hearts and the Good Conduct Medal. SSGT Leija was a brave and loyal soldier, as well as a charismatic and caring man. After Vietnam, he married Gloria Martinez of Porterville, California, and had three children. He became a skilled plumber by trade. Later, he married Juana Flores of Visalia and helped raise her two children and grandchildren. He was preceded in death by his father Daniel Leija, Sr and his mother Anastacia Leija and his brothers: Adam, Leovardo, Adan, Jesse, Felix, Sebastian, Theodore, Manual, Daniel Jr., Benjamin, and his beloved sister Phyllis. He is survived by his wife Juana Flores, his brothers Pete and David and his sisters Amalia, Amelia, Adela and Virginia, and his sister-n-laws and brother-in-laws, his children Ruben Leija Jr., Rita Leija, and Spence Leija, and eight grandchildren, and Juana’s children: Debbie Hernandez, her husband Rene, Michael Flores and niece Sandy Nevarez, along with many other beloved nieces and nephews he and Juana raised as their own. Visitation will be on Monday, November 2nd, 2020 from 4:30-6:30 p.m. at Hadley-Marcom Funeral Home in Visalia, California. Internment will be Tuesday, November 3rd at 12:30 pm at Bakersfield National Cemetery in Arvin, California.