Salinas

Louis Horatio Huntington Jr, age 85, passed away peacefully on February 3, 2025, surrounded by his family at his home in Salinas, CA. Born inReno, NV, on August 16, 1939, to Ruth and Louis Huntington Sr., Louis and his younger sister Diane Rossi spent their early childhood years in Stockton, CA, before moving to the ranch in Soledad when Louis was nine years old. Louis would marry his lifelong love, Roberta (Fanoe, Gonzales, CA.) in 1963. Together, they raised their family on the ranch until moving to their forever home in San Benancio Canyon in 1980.

Louis leaves behind a multifaceted legacy as family patriarch, respected business leader, and farmer. After graduating from Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo, in 1963 with a degree in Ag Business, he joined his father farming tomatoes, potatoes, sugar beets, and onions for Anton Aaroe. Over time, the business was purchased from Anton, and the crops changed to iceberg lettuce, romaine, broccoli, cauliflower, strawberries, leaf lettuce, and celery. Louis grew the business, expanding into packing, sales, cooling and shipping while building the Nature’s Reward brand. Entrepreneurial and strategic, Louis purchased his first ranch in the 80’s along the Salinas River, now members of the family’s fourth generation work for the company. Louis gave back to the industry he loved, serving on the boards of the Grower-Shipper Association (2 terms), the Iceberg Lettuce Research Board, American Ag Credit and Pacific Valley Bank. His straightforward approach, honesty, work ethic, fairness, and commitment to accountability were hallmarks of his character in business and in life. He had a tremendous amount of gratitude and respect for the contributions of the many company employees, some of whom have been with the company for over 50 years.

Louis loved the outdoors, a passion instilled by his father, and many summer vacations spent camping, fishing, and hunting on drives to Kennewick, Washington, to visit family. Louis passed this passion onto his sons, spending some of his most memorable times in a duck blind, tracking deer, or fishing for Salmon with them. A proud Boone and Crockett record holder for a Mule deer shot in the backcountry of Colorado in 1965, Louis also spent many happy days inthe duck blinds of the Salinas Gun Club and The Old Curran Club in Hagerman, Idaho, with his sons and his hunting dogs.

Always intellectually curious, Louis pursued and enjoyed an active lifestyle, enjoying golf, chess, movies, music, cards, travel, football, the 49ers, and collecting wine. He was a member of the Monterey Chess Club, Corral de Tierra Country Club, and a 49er season ticket holder for many years. He shared his appreciation of wine (and carefully curated wine collection) with family and friends on holidays and other occasions. He was an avid music lover with eclectic tastes and a love of lyrics and the stories they told. He enjoyed traveling to see his favorite artists, like Jason Isbell and Leonard Cohen, perform live. A favorite memory was taking his new bride, Roberta, to see Janis Joplin at the Fillmore West in San Francisco in 1965. Throughout his life, he enjoyed traveling to hunting and fishing destinations such as Montana, Alaska and Los Cabos.

He enjoyed family vacations in Tahoe and Los Cabos and traveling with family and friends to see the world. His grandchildren were always excited to be invited along on Papa Lou’s next travel adventure.

Louis believed in giving back to his community. Later in life, he became a passionate supporter of conservatism, with one of his favorite organizations being the Young America’s Foundation. He was a generous supporter of many local community organizations, including St Joseph’s Church, Palma High School, Notre Dame High School, Sacred Heart School, Dorothy’s Place, Sunstreet Centers (Huntington Recovery Center in Salinas and the Huntington House in King City), and the Hartnell College Ag Center. He supported the Arthritis Research Coalition Board and the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health as he saw the impact of arthritis and brain-related diseases on friends and family he loved.

Above all, Louis loved his wife, his family, Deloris Jeffries (good friend and caregiver), and numerous friends made through the years. Roberta was his lifelong love, and he treasured her wisdom and support through 61-plus years of marriage. He was a loving father (and father-in-law) and mentor to Chris (Rae), Nick (Allyson), Bonnie Vogel (Paul), and Michelle Beach (Greg), teaching them the value of hard work from an early age onthe Ranch. He took great pride and joy inhis family as it grew toinclude 14 grandchildren and step-grandchildren (Matthew, Mitchell (Emily), Laura (Caleb Weigand), Ella, Luke, Sam, Maxine, Jake, Madeleine, Meredith, Caroline, Mark, Kevin and Neil) and 2 great-grandchildren (Hallie and Brooks) with one more great-grandchild expected in May. Louis left an indelible mark on his family and community and will be truly missed.

Visitation will be held 1:00 - 4:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at Struve and Laporte Funeral Home, 41 W. San Luis St., Salinas, CA., 93901.

Rosary will be held at 6:00 p.m. Tuesday, February 11, 2025, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 1 Railroad Ave. Spreckels, CA., 93962.

Funeral Mass will be held at 11:00 a.m. Wednesday, February 12, 2025, at St. Joseph’s Catholic Church, 1 Railroad Ave. Spreckels, CA, 93962.

Burial to follow at Gonzales District Cemetery, 1000 US 101, Gonzales, CA, 93926.

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to: Palma School Foundation, 919 Iverson St. Salinas, CA 93901, www.palmaschool.org Saint Joseph’s of Spreckels Catholic Church, P.O. Box 7158, Spreckels, CA 93962-7158, www.stjchurch.org Sun Street Centers, 11 Peach Drive, Salinas, CA 93901, www. sunstreetcenters.org Young America’s Foundation, 1480 Commerce Park Drive, Sixth Floor, Reston, VA, 20191, www.yaf.org Funeral Arrangements by Struve and Laporte Funeral Home.

Online condolences to www.struveandlaporte.com