Arthur Joseph Cortez

Beloved father, uncle and brother, Arthur J. Cortez passed away peacefully in his sleep at the age of 83 years old after a brief but hard-fought battle against Stage 4 Adenocarcinoma.

Arthur was preceded in death by his father, Simeon L. Cortez, his mother, Eugenia M. Cortez and his brother, Simeon L. Cortez, Jr.

He is survived by his three children, Leslie Ann, Linda Courtenay and Arthur Ryan; his sister Linda Jean Cortez; his nephews Anthony Cortez and Simeon Cortez III; his wife Vickie, from whom he was separated for the past 20 years; and many loving extended family members.

Art was a lifelong resident of Alameda, CA, attending St Joseph Elementary School and Alameda High School (class of 1953) in his youth. He attended City College of San Francisco before being drafted into the Army. After serving 2 years in the US Army as a personnel Clerk in Fort Chaffee, Arkansas, he attended the Automation Institute in San Francisco to train as an Accounting Machine Operator. Art spent the bulk of his career with the U.S. Postal Service as a computer programmer and working in several computer operations related positions, including management. He took an early retirement from the Postal Service in 1990 after a 30 plus year career in Government Service.

Throughout his life, Art freely volunteered his time with his children’s swim team and as a coach for his daughters’ basketball teams at St Joseph’s Elementary. After his retirement from the Postal Service, Art continued to donate his time as a volunteer coach for his son’s and nieces’ respective basketball and volleyball teams at St Joseph’s Elementary. He also served his church, St Joseph’s Basilica in Alameda as both a eucharistic minister and as a Knight of Columbus. Nevertheless, retirement left him restless and after 4 years of retirement life, Art went to school to become a Certified Nursing Assistant – a rewarding second career in which he enjoyed assisting patients recovering from strokes or struggling with dementia and helping in the Anesthesia Department at Alameda Hospital before retiring again several years later.  

Art was a “people person” who had the ability to make anyone laugh. He was well liked by everyone who knew him and made easy friends. His sense of humor and good nature will be sorely missed.

A funeral mass will be held on Thursday, October 4th at 11am at St Joseph’s Basilica in Alameda, California.

In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made in Art’s memory to the American Cancer Society.

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