Manuel (Mel) Jurado was born in El Paso, Texas, and raised in Windfield, Kansas, where he attended school before joining the Navy. When he returned from the Navy, he ended up in North Platte, Nebraska working for the Union Pacific as a General Foreman for 12 years. He then married Rose Rivera and they had two children, Patty and Jerry. But the wintertime in Nebraska was so bad he relocated to Whittier, CA. His career assignments since his first job as mail carrier included: Acting Director of employees and labor relations in Van Nuys and Pasadena; officer in charge of the Huntington Beach post office in 1980; served as Postmaster for the City of Tustin, CA, and the City of Orange, CA. After working forty years for the Postal Service he retired in 1997. Mel was an active member for sixty years in the League of United Latin American Citizens (LULAC), a national organization, where he held many offices. In 2003 Mel and Rose moved to the Colony in Murrieta, CA, where he was active in golf, paddle tennis and bowling, he also loved to play pool. Because of his illness throughout the years, he had to drop out of the activities. He loved the Colony and everyone. He leaves behind his wife, Rose, of 68 years, daughter Patty Thune (Wally), and son Jerry; four grandchildren: Melanie (Dave), Billy (Jennie), Gabriel (Angeline), Stephanie (Jim), and 12 great-grandchildren.