Sports were always important to Michael Estrada, a first-generation American.
His father came to the U.S. at the age of 8 from Mexico and Mr. Estrada grew up in Austin, Texas, where he played sports and was best known for his skill on the football field. He was good enough to be offered a football scholarship, but he turned that down to attend Texas State College.
As a young boy growing up in Texas, Mr. Estrada developed a passion for hunting and fishing on his family's land. Later, he was able to get his daughters interested in fishing — but they definitely drew the line at hunting, said his wife, Elizabeth. Both girls were involved in sports from an early age, however, and Mr. Estrada enjoyed coaching their soccer and basketball teams.
His wife said he left a wonderful legacy of exactly what a father should be because he loved spending time with his family. Even after his diagnosis with pancreatic cancer, he never complained or wasted time questioning the reason why. In his last couple of weeks, he was able to take the family out on the lake and shoot video of one of his daughters' basketball games.
As a young man, Mr. Estrada joined his family in moving from Texas to the District of Columbia. While in Washington, he began working for the IRS and then for the Department of the Treasury. It was during this time that he met the love of his life. "It was truly love at first sight. After that first date, we were together the next 20 years," his wife said.
Once they were married, the Treasury Department relocated the couple in 1995 to Georgia, where their daughters Cecelia, 15, and Katherine, 14, were born.
Michael Estrada, 45, of Cumming died Tuesday at his home of pancreatic cancer. His funeral Mass will be at 10 a.m. Saturday at the Catholic Church of the Good Shepherd in Cumming.
Mr. Estrada's brother, Mark Estrada of Austin, Texas, said he always looked up to him. "Whatever Michael put his mind to, he could accomplish," he said. "He was generous and kind and always willing to jump in and try something new."
Mark Estrada recalled when they were children his brother would play hide and seek with his three younger siblings. He would go hide while they looked for him, and on several occasions they found him in the house, watching television and eating popcorn.
Mr. Estrada's sister, Linda Costales of Jasper, said he was her hero. She said their parents always told them, "You can have all the riches in the world, but never forget where you came from because without that place, your journey would have never begun."
Also surviving are his parents, Arthur and Rose Estrada of Buda, Texas; and another sister, Jo Ann Lowe of Austin, Texas.
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