Quintero knew meaning of a hard day's work

Florentino Quintero was a man who enjoyed everything, but was not mischievous and never looked for trouble, according to family and friends.

Quintero died on Jan. 14 at his home at the young age of 36.

“He was hard-working and he was a calm kid, growing up,” Antonio Quintero said about his son. “The best way for me to describe him would be that he was real obedient and never got into trouble.”

Quintero was born on Feb. 22, 1967, in Portales to Antonio and Micaela Quintero.

Florentino attended school in Portales and graduated from Portales High School in 1986. He was a produce manager at La Tienda and was an assistant produce manager for IGA.

“He was a good kid,” La Tienda Manager Don Peterson said. “I never had any problems with him.”

Florentino also worked for Milk Transportation Systems.

“He always received good recommendations from all of his bosses,” Antonio said. “He never missed a day of work. He would always work hard at either place.”

A native of Portales, Florentino lived his entire life in Portales and, according to his father, he wouldn’t have it any other way.

“He liked to work in this area and didn’t look for jobs outside of Clovis or Portales,” Antonio said. “He didn’t want to be anywhere else but here.”

Antonio said his son worked in many places and had many trades. His son even followed in his footsteps when he worked in construction. Antonio is a retired construction worker, who was a truck driver, also. Antonio said he showed him many facets of construction from tiling a bathroom to laying down cement.

Antonio said his son was into everything. Florentino was a football fan and cheered his Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday. Peterson, who is a Denver Broncos’ fan, said he would talk football with Florentino.

Family members said he took care of his nephews and nieces as if they were his own kids. He was their father figure.

“He talked a lot about his family,” Peterson said. “He was really tight with his family. He was always talking about his dad and how they used to work together, tiling. He was really family-orientated.”

Name: Florentino Quintero

Born: Feb. 22, 1967, in Portales to Micaela and Antonio Quintero.

Died: Jan. 14, at his home in Portales.

Survivors: His parents; a brother, Michael Quintero of Portales; four sisters, Lisa Dunstone (and husband, Chris) of Portales; Patsy Dauman and Grace Uihlein (Bill), all of Vicksburg, Miss., and Mona Quintero of Las Vegas, Nev.; and 13 nieces and nephews.