Mr. Nicolas Galvan Cortes was born September 9, 1939 in El Fuerte within the town of Churintzio, Michoacan Mexico. He enjoyed and appreciated nature, friends, and family. He used to go horseback riding throughout town and in the open range at a young age. He enjoyed farm life, and worked at the family store.  He loved music. His favorite artist was Pedro Infante. He was raised Catholic.

His father, Papa Brigido Galvan, instilled a strong work ethic on his children. Papa Brigido came to the United States to work and send money back to his growing family in Churintzio. Nicolas followed in his father’s footsteps and came to the U.S. to work various agricultural jobs. He was in the Bracero Program and lived in a labor camp while earning 30 cents an hour. No job was too strenuous and for him, there was never an excuse to not work. Nicolas knew that one day he would get married and have a family of his own.

Nicolas met his future wife Carmen in the same town they both grew up in. Carmen was best friends with one of Nicolas’ sisters (Abigail). Nicolas and Carmen became very close friends and after seven years he asked her, “So, are we going to do this or what?” They married on December 14, 1977 and the newlyweds came to Santa Ana, California shortly after.

Their daughter Maria Ester was born in 1978 followed by a son Nicolas Jr. in 1982. Nicolas and his family continued to live in Santa Ana, moved to Irvine then back to Santa Ana while he worked at Hines Nurseries in Irvine. He worked more than 60 hours a week to provide for his family’s needs, and always made time for his wife and children.

In the late 1980’s all the years of arduous work took toll on his health, and he had heart attack.That did not slow Nicolas down. He was determined to continue working despite his heart condition. As his children got older they saw the reality of his growing health conditions.

Nicolas continued to have more health issues in the next 30 years and his wife became his full time caretaker. Even with all that Nicolas was going through, he continued to have a positive outlook on life. His optimism kept him going. He would tell his wife and children, “No se preocupen,todo va estar bien. Estoy bien”, but they knew he was in pain and going through a lot more than he showed. Despite this, he became a U.S. Citizen. 

He talked about wanting to retire in Mexico, but due to his many health conditions, it was impossible for him to retire there.

Nicolas had a wonderful sense of humor and enjoyed the company of friends and family. He had a great memory and enjoyed talking about life and giving encouraging advice. Everyone appreciated this about him, and he had many lifelong friends.

Nicolas is remembered through his wife Carmen, children Maria Ester, Nicolas Jr., Roberto Gonzales, grandson Andy, daughter in-law Alison, son in-law Adrian, and the entire Galvan-Ramos family, and all of his friends.

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