Joseph Hurtado

Joseph Samuel (“Sam”) Hurtado passed away on November 5, 2020, at the age of 78.  Sam was born on June 11, 1942 in Kansas City, KS to Amor Hurtado and Maria Refugia Talavera Hurtado.  He grew up in Kansas City, where he met many lifelong friends and was a graduate of East High School.  Sam was always very curious and he had a knack for understanding how things worked and how they were put together.  Talented in many fields, he could build just about anything from scratch or fix anything that was broken. He was a machinist, a mechanic, a carpenter/woodworker and he took pride in his green thumb.  He was a loving husband to his beloved wife Celia “Sally” Hurtado whom he was married to for 54 years before her untimely passing in 2016.  Together they had two children and five grandchildren whom Sam lived to love, protect, and help every chance that he could.  He was a great teacher and instilled the importance of family values in his children and grandchildren.

He spent his entire professional career in the automotive industry including over 20 years at General Motors where he made many dear friends and traveled from Kansas City to Mexico and Detroit before starting a long and successful consulting career.  While with GM, he was asked to help start up a new assembly plant in Saltillo, Coahuila, Mexico which he did from 1978 to 1986.  It was in Saltillo where his family learned a great deal about their Hispanic culture including a newfound respect for the people and their traditions, music, cooking, and language.  It was widely known that their time spent in Mexico was the most influential in the lives of each family member and they attribute this once in a lifetime opportunity to Sam for not only his professional abilities but also for making the bold move to leave home and relocate to a foreign country Following their time in Mexico, the family relocated to Detroit, MI, where Sam worked for the Cadillac Motor Division until 1990. He moved back to the Kansas City area and continued working as a consultant until his retirement in 2010.

Sam is preceded in death by his parents; wife, Celia “Sally” Hurtado; and siblings, Joe, Fred, Ruben, Tony and Mary Hurtado, and Suzie Misenhelter. He will be fondly remembered and greatly missed by his children, David (Tammy) Hurtado and Gina (Grant) Taylor; grandchildren, Jessica and Marisa Hurtado, Tristan, Lochlan, and Pilar Taylor; sister, Andrea (David) Carrillo; and brother, Tom (Judy) Hurtado.

A visitation will be held at Terrace Park Funeral Home on Thursday, November 12th from 5:00-7:00pm, with the praying of the Rosary at 6:45pm. A funeral mass will be held at St. Patrick’s Catholic Church, 1086 N. 94th St. KCK 66112, on Friday, November 13th at 1:30pm. In lieu of flowers, contributions may be made to St. Patrick’s Catholic Church.

The rosary will be available to view via live stream and recording at https://www.oneroomstreaming.com/view/authorise.php?k=160516264085349

The funeral mass will be available to view through the church Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/StPatrickKCK/