Miguel “Sarge” Diaz; Warehouseman, Referee

Miguel “Sarge” Diaz, well known in Ventura as a referee for basketball and baseball games, has died at the age of 79 after a long illness.

Diaz was born in Moorpark in 1917 but raised in the west end of Ventura in a modest wooden house. Friends and family members often called him “Sarge,” a nickname he earned after serving in the Philippines, where he was a sergeant during World War II.

Upon returning home from the Army, Diaz began a nearly lifelong job in the shipping warehouses at Port Hueneme Naval Construction Battalion Center. Diaz pursued his love of sports during the evenings, working as a referee at the Ventura Parks and Recreation Department’s baseball and basketball games.

For daughter Anita Diaz, nicknamed “Little Sarge,” her father imparted a strong work ethic through his words and deeds. She remembers that her dad often held two or three jobs to feed his family.

“He was so strict with us,” she said. “We never understood why he was so hard on us but I think it was because he wanted us to be better people.”

Anita has followed in her father’s footsteps and now holds two jobs--as a restaurant owner and a scheduler who sends out referees to school games from Simi Valley to Goleta.

In addition to Anita, Diaz is survived by his wife, Esther Marquez Diaz of Ventura; two other daughters, Virginia Jasperson of Yakima, Wash., and Rosemarie Clepper of Ventura; two sons, Michael Diaz of Thousand Oaks and Leonard Diaz of Ventura; a sister, Mary Diaz of Phoenix; two brothers, Edward Diaz and Vincent Diaz, both of Ventura; as well as his grandchildren, nieces and nephews.

A rosary will be recited at 7 p.m. Friday at the Joseph P. Reardon Funeral Home in Ventura. A graveside burial will be held at Ivy Lawn Memorial Park in Ventura on Saturday, following a Mass scheduled for 8:45 a.m. at the San Buenaventura Mission.