In tribute: Cipriano Lovato was 'the dad that you want'

PORTALES - Cipriano Lovato, friends and family said, was strict at home, fair and just at work, relentless at romance and dancing and enthusiastic about life.

"Cippy," as he was known around Portales and in the New Mexico Department of Transportation, died Aug. 21 in Albuquerque. The lifelong Portales resident was "the dad that you want," son Ricky Lovato said.

"We respected our elders," Ricky Lovato said. "When we went to someone's house, we sat on the couch until he told us we could play. He never cursed. He was the dad that every American should be right now."

Lovato was born April 7, 1949, as the youngest of nine children in Portales, and at age 18 met Anita Jaquez on a dance floor and insisted that night he was going to marry her.

"I told him he was crazy," said Anita, who ended up marrying him three months after that fateful night.

Lovato spent much of his early working years driving, first for Southwest Canners and then independently when he had an opportunity to buy his own truck. Much of C&A Lovato Trucking's business consisted of short deliveries like gravel, barnyard supplies or commodities for dairies.

"We worked together forever, 16 years driving and hauling the same stuff," Ricky Lovato said. "(It) was more of a best friend type of relationship."

Cipriano Lovato Jr. took a different route in life, joining the military and eventually ending up in Seattle. But Cipriano Jr., known as J.R. to his siblings, said the support never stopped, from making every youth baseball game possible to dispensing advice as an adult.

"He gave me good advice as far as being a better person," Cipriano Jr. said. "He taught us a lot of life lessons, how to work on our own cars, work around the house."

Daughter Denise Vasquez jokingly bristled when her brothers said she was the favorite child, and said her dad was her hero. He always supported her in her sports, including track, basketball and volleyball.

"He taught me how to pitch (in softball)," Vasquez said, "and he was a good horseshoes player."

After 13 years of running his own trucking company, Lovato got tired of battling against rising fuel prices and found a labor position at the DOT. He eventually worked his way up to supervisor, a title he held until his death.

Ricky Lovato believed his father helped improve morale with the Portales crew.

"He's fair," Ricky Lovato said. "There's no gray area for him. It's either right or wrong, and he treats everybody the same."

Francisco Sanchez, engineer for the DOT's District 2, recalled his first few weeks at the department in 2014. He had just left behind a 12-year tenure with the city of Roswell, and still wasn't sure he'd made a good decision.

"As I pulled into the Portales Patrol, Cippy came out to introduce himself," Sanchez wrote. "As I shook his hand, he made me felt like I belong, let me know Portales Crew was there for anything I needed and welcomed me to NMDOT. From that moment, I knew I made the right choice."

The younger Cipriano recalled one family gathering, where his father enthusiastically joined the grandkids in a campfire game called "Zoomy Zoomy." The game incorporated knee slapping and clapping, and the next morning his father couldn't understand where he got those giant bruises on his legs.

"His outlook on life was amazing," Ricky Lovato said. "Whatever room you went into with him had that special aura. He was always happy."