Obituary of Rafael Campos

April 2, 1944 - July 23, 2024

Rafael Campos.  Age 80 of Woodhaven.
 
Beloved husband of the late Karen Campos.  Loving father of Timothy (Kelly) and Maria (Nick) Merolla.  Dearest grandfather of Timothy, Jenna, and Adrienne. Dear brother of Aurora (the late Tom) Evans, Elvira “Vera” (John) Barnes, Juan (Pat) Campos, Esperanza “Hope” (the late Nancy) Campos, Linda (Jim) Garner, and Mario (Anni) Campos. 

Rafael is preceded in death by his parents, Apolinar and Manuela Campos; and siblings Apolinar “Paul” Campos, Antaschio “Cheerio” Campos, Mary Ann (the late John) Rennie, David Campos and Minerva “Minnie” (Jeff) Armstrong.

Memorial contributions are appreciated to Detroit Goodfellows.

Family Tribute

Rafael Campos was born April 2, 1944 in Brownsville, TX to Apolinar and Manuela Campos. At the age of 3, the family moved to Michigan, and shortly after they moved to the family home on McKinstry in Detroit where they remained for the next 75 years.

He was the fourth oldest of 12, and was a beloved older brother who included his younger siblings in many of his hobbies. 

He attended Detroit Public Schools where he sang in the choir, played many sports (including playing competitive tennis at Western High School) and made many friendships - some of which were maintained to the present day.

Rafael was drafted into the Army after high school and was stationed in Germany, Italy, and Spain (among other places) during the Vietnam War.

After receiving an honorable discharge, Rafael returned to Michigan and eventually began working at Ford Motor Company where he proudly worked for 38 years where he was a dedicated employee, and continued to collect friendships. For many years, he wrote a column called “Off The Top Of My Head” for the UAW Local 898 paper. He even traveled back to Germany to bring fuel injectors to America.

Rafael met Karen Marsh, whose family also lived on McKinstry, and fell madly in love. They married April 30, 1971, at Most Holy Redeemer Church. Their first child Timothy was born soon after and their daughter, Maria followed a few years later. Karen and Rafael were married for 52 years, until her passing. 

Home life was very important to Rafael, and the atmosphere of home that he curated made core memories for Maria. Bedtime rituals that began with prayer and ended with story books, the stories brought to life with funny voices.

He also took pride in the physical home - maintaining the lawn and keeping his home spic and span.

He was meticulous about taking care of the yard. Always sweeping the sidewalk with a pair of gloves dangling from his back pocket. Even in the winter. 

But Rafael lived a life of widely varied interests, and in order to fully remember him, we must remember as many of them as we can.

Music.

As a teenager he sang doo-wop with friends, and later reunited with some of the same friends to sing karaoke. He would play congas and jam with anyone who would let him.

Rafael loved his music and was an avid record collector. His vast collection of 45s are organized and labeled alphabetically, making it easy to play them on his jukebox while singing along. Timothy and Maria have clear memories of pushing the furniture aside and dancing together for hours while the music played.

Sports.

Rafael was an enthusiastic sports fan. He taught himself how to play tennis left-handed the summer that he lost his middle finger in a work related accident at a small machine shop.

He was a competitive player, and people he didn’t even know would reach out to him because they wanted to win a tennis doubles tournament. 

He took up golf later in life and really enjoyed it.

But sports was more than competition to him, it was an expression of love.

Many nights, he would spend all evening outside playing catch with Tim and his neighborhood friends for hours. 

Faith.

The Catholic Faith was important to Rafael, and he held it close through all of the ups and downs of life - including the ordeal of recovering from 2 quadruple bypass surgeries, and surviving another 22 years; labeled a walking miracle by his doctor.

He showed love through acts of service. He took on the role of caregiver for his wife Karen during her illness. He was involved with the church as a lector for over 20 years, and he provided respite care for families of Alzheimer's patients, staying with them so that the families could take a much needed break. 

Joy.

As important as the other aspects of his life were to him, he was an extremely proud grandfather / papi and collected joyful moments with each of his grandchildren. The love that he shared with them was returned through the care they gave back to him. 

Rafael will be remembered for his dedication, kindness, and calmly positive outlook.