Obituaries

Sun Prairie - Manuel A. Mendoza was born on May 23, 1937, in the town of Adjuntas, Puerto Rico, the first child of Manuel Mendoza and Josefa Pons. After attending high school in Adjuntas, he completed his high school education in the city of Ponce High School. He graduated in 1959 with a B.A. degree in Business Administration from the Rio Piedras campus of the University of Puerto Rico, after which he pursued graduate studies in Economics at the Bernard Baruch School in New York City.

After returning to Puerto Rico, he worked at the Corporacion de Credito Agricola (a farm credit government agency), mainly as a Credit and Collections Manager until his retirement after 23 years of service. Having moved with his family to Sun Prairie, Wisconsin in 1988, he worked for several years at Centro Hispano of Dane County and later at the Dane County Department of Human Services.

In 1962, he married Margarita Machuca in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico. The couple had four children: Manuel, Margarita, Mario and Marcos, all of whom graduated from UW-Madison, attaining the following degrees: Manuel—Doctor of Medicine, Margarita and Mario—Juris Doctor, and Marcos—Bachelor of Arts in Italian. His children gave him nine grandchildren: Joanna, Joshua, Jayna, Jacob, Danielle, Ryan, Elena, Jessica, Santiago, Karolina and Yasmin. Second only to serving His Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, the well-being of their children, their mates and the grandchildren has been the top priority of Manuel and Margarita.

Manuel and Margarita became part of the family of God when they received Christ as their personal Savior and Lord of their lives in 1994. Serving Him has been the main objective of their lives, which they instilled in their children, their mates and the grandchildren through words and actions. In Manuel’s and Margarita’s Christian journey, they were members of Calvary Baptist Church in Sun Prairie, and for the past seventeen years they have worshipped as member of Waunakee Baptist Church (previously known as First Baptist Church of Waunakee).

Manuel was preceded in death by his parents Manuel and Josefa, stepfather Felix Siberon, borthers Gary and Ruben, and infant sister Wanda, as well as very dear aunts, uncles and cousins. He was ushered to Heaven on May 28, 2023, from his residence in Sun Prairie.

He is survived by his wife of more than sixty years, Margarita, his children Manuel (Teresa) Margarita (Rob), Mario (Erika) and Marcos, all his grandchildren, sister Norah, brother Javier (Graciela) and many nieces, nephews, cousins and in-laws.

Visitation will take place on Saturday, June 17, 2023. starting at 9:30 a.m. at Waunakee Baptist Church, 5757 Emerald Grove Ln, Waunakee, Wisconsin, followed by a memorial service at 11 a.m. A light lunch will be provided after the service. A private interment will take place at Highland Memory Gardens in Cottage Grove on a subsequent date.

To view and sign this guestbook, please visit: www.ryanfuneralservice.com.

Ryan Funeral Home & Cremation Services

Windsor/DeForest Chapel

6924 Lake Road

608-846-4250