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Deceased Classmate: John Castro Jr (1966)
Date Deceased: 1997
Age at Death: 49
Cause of Death: robbed/shot and killed
Classmate City: Reno
Classmate State: NV
Classmate Country: USA
Survived By: SISTER LAVERNE,BROTHERS ANTHONY AND RONALD
JOHN WAS A VIETNAM VET SERVED ABOUT 1967 U.S. ARMY ARTILLERY LOVED EVERY IF HE DIDNT KNOW THEM THEY WOULD BECOME HIS FRIEND JOHN HAD A BIG HEART. LOVED TO FISH AND BARBECUE ALONG WITH A COLD ONE. LOVED BASEBALL AND FOOTBALL. COMMENT ITS VERY SAID THAT JOHN SERVIVED VIETNAM ONLY TO COME HOME AND BE KILLED BY ONE OF OUR OWN. WE WILL SEE HIM AGAIN SOMEDAY.
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Joseph Randy Decena (1966)
John was and is a good friend and I always had a good time when I was around him. I first met John in 10th grade at Pacific High. He played football and I got to know him better when I joined Pacific High Vikings Football Team. We had great fun our Jrs and Senior year on the team. After graduation, we would bump into each other every now and then. We reconnected for awhile in the 80's, but lost contact due to changes in life. The next time I heard anything about John is that when he was a Taxi-cab driver in Sacramento,Ca. He was shot in the head by a client he picked up for a fare one night. My guess is that the person he picked up tried to Rob John, and knowing John, he probably resisted and was Shot and Murdered by that person. Fairwell John and Rest in Peace.
Your Friend and Buddy
Randy Decena
Charles Bock (1966)
"PINEAPPLE". John Castro Jr. was a very good man who died in the prime of his life. He tragically died in Reno, NV on Oct 26, 1997. John was murdered. John was a taxi cab driver for a Reno cab company. He received a call on this Saturday night and picked up two young males and a young female. He drove them to their destination and when he stopped the cab, one of the male passengers put a gun to the back of his head and shot him point blank. He died instantly. All three murderers were caught. They were fellow cab drivers from another cab company and they stated that they needed money so they decided to rob another cab driver. They murdered John for $89 dollars. All three were convicted of the murder. (This info was published in several editions of the Reno Gazette & is 100 percent accurate). I still can't comprehend the senselessness of his death-how could someone kill John for any reason, let alone for $89 dollars.
Many of John's closest friends called him "Pineapple". We called him this because his father John Sr. was. from Hawaii (don't know about his mother). The Castro family was very loving and kind. John was the oldest of four children-a younger sister and two younger brothers. John was a naturally gifted athlete-tremendous coordination and strength, and a fierce competitor. He had a "Golden arm"-he could throw a baseball through a "brick wall" and throw it at least 250 in the air-probably much farther. He played baseball for three years and football for three years at Pacific. His dad John Sr. was very proud of him. John graduated from PHS in 1966, got married very soon after graduation and had a child soon thereafter. I am not sure if he enlisted or joined the Army. He served a 13 month tour in Vietnam. When he returned from Vietnam, he had PTSD. We did many things together for several years after he got out of the Army and he was really struggling with PTSD. Our lives then moved in different directions. He went through some very tough times for many years. In the late 70's, very early 80's I ran into him at the Martinez Vets Center. He was receiving treatment and was getting his life together-things were going well for him. . Then we completely lost touch with each other but I heard several times from friends over the years that he had gotten remarried, had two children, was working full time and living in Reno. His life had come together and he was happy. He worked hard to make himself whole again. He served his country, loved his family and friends, was a constructive member of society, would do anything for anybody, had a larger than life personality and a heart of gold. Then to die so tragically and needlessly. John, you will always be in the hearts of those that knew you. I think of you often and still cannot understand how people can be so cruel. I love you brother.