Robert "Bobby" Carrasco Jr's Obituary
Robert “Bobby” Carrasco, Jr., 85, of Colton, California, passed away on February 14, 2022. He was born March 29, 1936 in Indio, California, son of Robert Carrasco Sr. and Carmen (Munoz) Carrasco. The family moved to South Colton when he was 3 and he was a life-long resident.
Bobby attended Colton schools, graduating from Colton High School in 1954. He met his future wife Aurora (Sunny) in a typing class as a junior and they married in 1958, celebrating over 63 years of marriage.
He joined the California National Guard in his senior year, and retired after 27 years as a Sergeant First Class. After 49½ years of service, he retired from the US Postal Service.
Bobby developed a passion for baseball at an early age and played throughout his life. At Colton High, he was a standout athlete and received his Letterman’s sweater. After graduation, he played semi-pro ball with several teams in multiple leagues, many of which won championships, and continued playing for decades in Mexican American Leagues in the Inland Empire.
Throughout his life, he coached numerous baseball and T-Ball teams in Little League, Pony and Colt Leagues and travel ball. He was an Assistant Varsity coach with the San Bernardino High School Cardinals, until the age of 83. In 2010, he revived the infamous Mercury’s Baseball Team in Colton, and the team was inducted into the Colton Sports Hall of Fame in 2016.
“Coach Bob”, is known for his coaching style of encouragement, patience, kindness, and mutual respect as well as for being a mentor, role model and friend. He believed that as long as he was able to teach a player to play baseball the right way, it’s worth the effort and time, and would make a difference in a player’s life.
He umpired high school and college games, as well as men’s league games throughout the Inland Empire for over 15 years. He was a member of the California Baseball Umpires Association and the Inland Baseball Umpires Association, and baseball coaches would specifically request for him to “ump” their games because he was such a great umpire.
Bobby became a soccer fan and a coach – again mentoring youth. He then founded, organized and managed the first American Youth Soccer Organization (AYSO) in Colton. He would eventually become a referee for high school soccer games.
As a student of history and baseball player, he was a major contributor to the Latino Baseball History Project at CSU San Bernardino. He loved mariachi music and was a long-time volunteer with Sinfonia Mexicana.
Bobby is survived by his wife Aurora and children - Elena, Irene, Robert, Rossana, Elisa Wyant (Bob), David and Chris (Kim); grandchildren - Amy, Sara, Carly, Justin, Kylee, Kyrsten, Kaitlyn and Jacob; and great-grandchildren - Monica, Alexander and Madison. He is also survived by brothers Pete and Danny Carrasco, and many nieces and nephews.
The Mass will be on March 31, 11:00 am, at Immaculate Conception Church, Colton. The burial service will follow at Green Acres Cemetery in Bloomington. A Celebration of Life Reception will be at the American Legion Hall in Colton after the service. Special memories may be shared online at https://www.preciadofuneralhome.com/obituaries/
In lieu of flowers, please consider a donation to the Humane Society of San Bernardino or a local animal rescue to honor Bobby’s love of animals.
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