Manuel Alvarez-Chacon died Monday, Aug. 4, 2025 from complications of a circulatory issue. Please help us to raise the necessary funds to provide Manuel with a cremation and the memorial he requested.

Manuel was born Nov. 22, 1954, to mother Olga Chacon and father Manuel Alvarez in Camaguey, Cuba. In Cuba, Manuel worked as a chemist at a water plant and was a popular boxer until he was forced to flee to the United States in 1980.

By 1982, Manuel found himself in Sacramento, Calif., where he attended Fremont School -- now known as CLARA -- to learn English while working for a plumbing company. He also worked at several Sacramento hotels including the Clarion, the Senator, and the Delta King. It was at the Delta King, where he worked as a line cook, that Manuel met Barbara Thomas Gladen of Mt. Shasta, Calif. While they were a couple, Barbara gave birth to a daughter Victoria Alvarez-Chacon.

After Victoria's birth, Manuel lived in Las Vegas, Nev., Missouri, and Miami -- where he worked in construction. Manuel returned to Sacramento briefly in 2011, then moved to Siskiyou County where he settled in the community of McCloud -- working as a handyman until his death.

Manuel will be greatly missed by many friends across the country, including Jerome Walker who supported Manuel in his final days.

Including Victoria, Manuel is survived by his daughter Maydeli Alvarez-Chacon and son Diosbel Alvarez-Chacon -- as well as an unknown number of grandchildren.