Damian Sosa

The Life and Legacy of Damian Sosa 

Damian was born on August 13, 1936 in Union de Reyes, Cuba. He was the oldest of five children, born to Pilar and Damian Sosa Sr. His family originated in the Canary Islands, Spain. As a young man he worked at a bakery in Cuba, and became quite the expert at bread baking, and picking out the best loaf of bread. At age 19, he noticed a young Oslidia at age 15 sitting on her grandparent’s porch in the city as he was walking by. He asked her father if he could come visit her on Sundays and Wednesdays, and there began their courtship which always consisted of a chaperone, usually being one of Oslidia’s younger siblings. One day he asked his future father in-laws if he could also come the following Friday because it was Valentine’s Day, to which Oslidia’s father approved. Damian was so excited because he would get to see her a third time that week. He was very beloved in Oslidia’s household. Damian met Pastor Raul Trujillo while he was walking home on a dirt road coming from Oslidia's home and headed to the bus stop going towards the city. Raul pulled over and asked if he wanted a ride. There began a friendship of a lifetime. After that Raul would drive by and pick him up in his little van and take him to church. And it was there that Damian accepted Jesus as his Lord and Savior at age 24. After a long courtship/engagement Damian at age 25 asked Oslidia at age 21 to marry him. Their Pastor Raul Trujillo married them on December 22, 1961. In 1964, their first daughter Damaris was born. Had she been a boy, her name would have been Damian Sosa III. In 1967, stating he did not want to raise a child in communism, he made the brave and selfless decision to leave Cuba. Leaving behind his father, mother, and siblings. On December 30, 1967 they landed in Madrid Spain, where they waited for their visas and a sponsorship from the United States, which Pastor Dick Iverson sent him the money for the application and became his sponsor. After a little over three months, the family was able to arrive in the United States, where Pastor Dick Iverson‘s Bible Temple Church members welcomed them playing string instruments, and singing hymns, at the Portland International Airport on April 24, 1968 arriving in the United States of America, the land of freedom. The day after his arrival in the new country, he began looking for work. Through Pastor Dick Iverson, Damian was able to secure a little cottage house “shoe box” for his young family. It was then that he referred to Pastor Dick Iverson as his “big brother“, a term of endearment that would last a lifetime. He mastered the English language by reading the Sunday comics in The Oregonian. He started working at Barker Furniture Manufacturing Company, where they made bedroom furniture sets. There he met many coworkers also newly arrived from Cuba that would also become lifelong friends. 1972 would bring the blessing of another baby girl, Dianne. Damian was an incredibly hard-working husband and father, always providing for his family, at times he would have three or four side jobs as a janitor. Damian loved his son in-laws, Eugenio and Joel, as if they were his own sons. And shared many of the same interests with them like watching Western movies, drinking coffee, auto shows, and even collecting baseball cards. Damian was hired by Gaylord Industries, a company which was a leading manufacturer of custom engineered commercial kitchen ventilation systems. They produced exhaust hoods for kitchens with such contracts/clients as the US Navy Ships and Burger King, among many others. Again, there Damian met several coworkers that would once again become lifelong friends. Since this field was not familiar to him, he had to learn from the ground up. There he would meet Steve Davis who taught him everything about the job and all the details necessary to complete his tasks. He became an amazing welder, and took pride in his work. Around our home you can find all kinds of welded stainless steel projects he would make with leftover scraps. Damian always felt indebted to Steve Davis for all the training that he gave him, that too would become a lifelong friendship. Damian retired from Gaylord Industries during Y2K in 2000. Not being a person that would just do nothing. He went on to work for the Oregon Convention Center, in charge of maintenance. To him this was not just a place to work, but a place to once again make friends. Wherever he worked, he would make friends and care about his coworkers and their families. Damian loved his garden, there he and Oslidia would enjoy together all of their beautiful flowers. He would tend to his roses, irises, some of which were 40+ years old, hydrangeas, calla lilies, fuchsia, and always attending the Fred Meyer Annual Fuchsia Saturday event. He loved growing his garlic every season, and mailing them to his friends in Florida. Aside from taking care of his own garden, he would go to his daughters’ homes and care for their roses as well. He also loved his yearly August trips to Sauvie Island for his peach picking adventures with the grandkids. In 2022, Damian‘s heart was weakening, his cardiologist recommended open-heart surgery, and he said “yes“, because it would give him a few more years to care for his wife Oslidia. Damian‘s favorite day of the week was Sundays, where he would get dressed up in his Sunday best (he could always spot a bargain/sale at Meier & Frank), grab his Bible and head off to church. To the church where he attended for nearly 60 years, growing through name changes, Bible Temple, City Bible Church, and what is now MannaHouse. Damian loved The Lord, his family, his friends, and even strangers on the street corner, always having a few extra dollars in his pocket just incase he ran into someone that was in need. Everyday he would kneel beside his bed, or sit at his desk praying for everyone on his list of names. If you knew Damian, your name was probably on that list. As mentioned numerous times before, Damian loved people. Frequently going to Fred Meyer or WINCO, where everyone knew his name. Damian loved each of his grandchildren and had a personal relationship with each one: Priscilla, Patricia, Bethany, and then came Jovany the first boy in the family. Along came the grandchildren in-laws, Brady, Dane, and the newest addition to the family Kylee. Soon after, came the Great-baby-grands: Tatum Emma “Baby in Heaven” (which was waiting at Heaven’s Gates for him, ready to be swept up into his arms). Judah And the “rainbow babies” which surprised all of us. August Amara Even during his last few months, as his health declined, and he was in and out of the hospital, and the memory care center, even then Damian was on a mission to share the gospel with as many people as he came in contact with. As many of you know that he was always singing, “In everything give thanks!!” Damian, Husband (Viejo), Father (Papi), Grandfather (Abuelito) Great Grandfather (Great Abuelito), will be loved and missed. But because of his dedication to The Lord, and the legacy he leaves us, we know that one day we will be reunited with him again in Glory. His life scripture was: Rejoice always, Pray without ceasing, In everything give thanks. I Thessalonians 5:16