Juan Rodriguez-Medrano, 65, longtime area resident, died Thursday, March 10, 2016 at his home in Fort Morgan. He had just returned from a trip to visit relatives in Mexico.

He was born February 8, 1951 in Durango, Mexico to Francisco and Matiana (Medrano) Rodriguez.

He married Enriqueta Soledad Gamboa in 1979 in Juarez, Chihuahua, Mexico and  they moved to Colorado in 1990.

Juan worked at the local beef processing plant for 23 years and retired in 2013 due to medical illness that he battled for 24 years.

In his younger days, Juan was a boxing legend known as "Bonanza" in Mexico.

He enjoyed cooking, wood carving, painting,  watching the Denver Broncos play on Sundays, and most of all, he loved spending time with his best friend, Melakhi.

Survivors include, his wife Enriqueta Soledad of Fort Morgan, two sons, Jose "Pepe" Abraham of Longmont, Miguel "Chunk" of Fort Morgan, and one daughter, Araceli "Cheli" of Fort Morgan.  Two brothers, Silvestre of Bigfork, Montana, and Octaviano of El Paso, Texas. Two sisters, Rosalia and Elisa both of Juarez, Mexico. Four grandchildren, Mario Alberto Carlos-Manriquez, Yvette Janie Rodriguez, Elias Ezequiel Rodriguez, and Melakhi LeRoy Salazar. He was preceded in death by his brother, Bartolo from Huntington Beach, California.

Memorial Services will be held Wednesday, March 16, 2016 at 3:00 pm at The Colony Church.