Ricardo Valdespino’s heart raced as he walked through the tunnel of camp counselors at Triangle Y Ranch Camp.
At the other end of the tunnel were his grandchildren Elias, 7, and Grace Brown, 12, whom he had not seen in seven years. The children and their parents lived in Germany for the past seven years because their father, Ricardo Brown, was stationed there.
A few months ago, the family relocated to Vail after Ricardo Brown was transferred to Davis-Monthan Air Force Base.
As fate would have it, Ricardo Sr. also made a move to Arizona. He is now Triangle Y Ranch Camp’s new food services director.
Ricardo Sr. flew into Tucson on June 11 and went straight to Tri Y to get to work. His grandkids had no idea.
Andy Hockenbrock, Triangle Y Ranch Camp’s executive director introduced campers to the camp’s new chef. While Papa Ricardo made his way through the welcome tunnel, Grace screamed to her friend, “That’s my grandpa!”
People are also reading…
Grace ran to her grandpa and gave him the biggest hug. Ricardo described it as, “amazing, just really, really, amazing.”
“There’s nothing like seeing your family and touching your family; you can never replace that. That is the most important thing in life … family and the love that you have for each other.”
He said he looks forward to spending the summer cooking at camp and making new memories with his grandkids and family.
The children are recipients of the Arizona Daily Star’s Sportsmen’s Fund Send A Kid to Camp program, which raises money so children from low-income or military families can go to camp at little or no cost. It is funded by Arizona Daily Star readers.
