Explorer for Hire | Zachary's Favorites | Resting Place
"Explorer for Hire" [obituary]
by Robert Reyes, Harold Terezón, Frank Cruz
By most measures, Zachary Michael Cruz lived a full life. He was born on March 12, 2003 in Ventura, CA, and died in an unexpected accident in Berkeley, CA, on February 27, 2009. Only five years old, Zachary was a devoted brother, a loving son, and an adored nephew, grandson, and great grandson. He touched the lives of everyone he came across; his absence has left a profound emptiness in the hearts of all who knew him.
An avid fan of all things Cal, Zach enjoyed Big Game Week, Oski the Bear, House of Curries, Café Milano, and spending time at the Campanile and the fountain on Sproul. Zach was passionate about sports—both as spectator and participant. As a Dodgers fan in the Bay Area, he loved to venture into the hostile territory of AT&T Park sporting his Dodgers apparel, to watch Manny Ramirez redeem left field, and sing “Take Me Out to the Ballgame.” (Zach’s next line was, “Take me out to the proud.”) As a former little leaguer with the t-ball Angels, Zach enjoyed teasing his father over the Angels-Dodgers schism that splits southern California like a fault line. This season he would have improved his batting and fielding skills, once again with the Angels.
As a kindergartener at Le Conte, Zach dreamed big about the future. His ambitions led him to outer space as an astronaut, and (not “or” Zach would say) to UC Berkeley’s labs and classrooms as a scientist and doctor. At other times, he worked as a musician, playing on the Hammond “Organize” at home or singing “All You Need is Love” as his father strummed along on the guitar.
Nothing Zach dreamed of was out of reach: no thought unimaginable; all possibilities, possible. He was an entrepreneur who sold Krabby Patties to his family like his cartoon idol Sponge Bob, and invested the profits in Star Wars Legos; an artist who, after watching the film Yellow Submarine with his grandma, drew a picture with pastels that now hangs framed on the living room wall. Whatever path Zach might have followed—whether a painter, photographer, rock climber, train conductor or the Great Bambino himself —he was a joy to those who knew him. He was a young man who exuded a “suave charisma” and wore his family’s love in a disarming yet contagious smile.
Zachary is survived by his loving parents, Frank and Jodie Cruz, and his brother, Miles, all of Berkeley, CA. He is survived by his other parents, Chris Dixon and Stacy Brown of Oakland, CA. On his father’s side, he is survived by his grandparents: Beverly and Danny Shelton of Oxnard, CA, and Frank David Cruz and Rebecca Sperry of Fillmore, CA, his great grandfather Raul J. Cruz, and his great grandmother Jeanette Philhower. On his mother’s side, Zachary is survived by his grandparents: Dorthy and David Best of Ventura, CA, and John Spargur of Texas, and his great grandmothers Rosalie Carlson and Ethel Rassmussen. Zachary is survived by his aunts and uncles: Jennifer and Wayne; John and Kelly Spargur; John Cruz, Nicole, Jessica, and James. His many cousins: Geoffrey and Lauren; Kira, Collin, Connor, Caity, and Caleb; Ashley, and Jeremy. He is missed by many, many friends at Le Conte Elementary (especially Ophelia), at Smyth Fernwald, and at all the daycare centers around campus.
He is deeply missed and will never be forgotten.