Pedro "Pete" Flavio Sanchez, age 85, of Blythe, California, passed away peacefully Tuesday morning, December 19, 2017 with all of his family by his side.

He was born on May 9, 1932 in Mexicali, Mexico to Juan and Rosario (Rodriguez) Sanchez. He was the youngest of five siblings. He graduated from Calexico High School in 1950. He played basketball and baseball but his favorite sport was wrestling. He was a four year letterman and All CIF wrestler. After he graduated high school, he came to Blythe to be a farm worker. This is when he met the love of his life, Anita, in a restaurant in Ripley, CA. He made Blythe his home where he raised his four children and was married to Anita for 61 years.

For most of his life he worked as a foreman for several local farms in Blythe. He knew the importance of a strong work ethic and never took days off. In his younger days he loved fishing, golfing, bowling, dog races and family camping trips. He loved sitting in his recliner watching sports to see if he picked the right team to win. His love and passion was betting on horse racing and spending time at the casino in Parker.

He is survived by his wife Anita Sanchez, his five children, Irma (Randy) Rister, Gloria (Tommy) Copple, Pete Jr (Catalina) Sanchez, Gilbert "Magoo" Sanchez, Esther Sanchez (Curt Coronado) his brother Meliton Sanchez.

He is also survived by grandchildren Michael Sauceda, Tommy Jr (Angela) Copple, Pete Sanchez III, Christina Sanchez, Ryan (Laura) Copple, Marty Herrera, Darien Herrera, Michael Sanchez, Nicole Killian and Jimmy Rister; great grandchildren Brennen, Tommy, Logan and Damian Copple, Dakota Killian and Angelica, Anthony, Joseph and Dominic Sauceda.

His family will always remember how strong he was and how he fought through all of his illnesses by never giving up.

On Friday, December 29th the rosary will start at 9:00 am and funeral services will begin at 10:00am at Frye Chapel with burial services following immediately at Palo Verde Cemetery.