The father of the San Diego County Board of Supervisors Vice President Nora Vargas, Eduardo Federico Vargas Ojeda, died peacefully on Thursday at Sharp Memorial Hospital in San Diego, according to a statement released by her press office.
“Everything that I am is due to this incredible man," Vargas wrote in the statement.
"Our father epitomized the American dream and embodied the true essence of hard work, sacrifice, and unconditional love," she said.
She said that he personally “instilled in me a passion for education and an obligation to give back. He believed politics to be a noble vocation and if, given the privilege to serve, you must dedicate your life to empowering the community and workers.”
Nora Vargas revealed that she felt "at peace, knowing that he will finally be reunited with my mother in heaven.”
Vargas thanked messages of support that have been sent to him and to “the incredible doctors, nurses, and staff at Sharp Memorial, for their compassion and care, not only for my father but also for our entire family. You are true heroes as we continue to live through this pandemic."
Eduardo Federico Vargas Ojeda was born in 1944, the youngest of seven siblings, in Tijuana, Baja California.
He was a formally appointed public official in service at the municipal, state, and federal levels of the Mexican government. He obtained his degree in economics from the National Autonomous University of Mexico in 1966, and was one of the founders and former dean of the Faculty of Economics at the Autonomous University of Baja California.
Eduardo married the love of his life Elizabeth Meléndez on December 27, 1969. A jazz, opera, and classical music enthusiast, he had a true love for Motown.
He is survived by his children, Nora, Erika, Frida, Eduardo Federico, his son-in-law Carlos Jiménez Ruiz, and his granddaughters Fatima and Farah.
