In tribute to the life and legacy of Antonio “Tony” Paredes, HEAR Center will be dedicating a rock garden on May 16 at 5:30 p.m. A board member of HEAR Center for nearly 30 years, Paredes was a generous donor and advocate for its mission, which offers complete and affordable hearing and speech services to people at all stages of life, so they can be a part of the hearing and speaking world. Upon being hired as the organization’s executive director in 2007, Ellen Simon began working with Paredes during his tenure on the board of directors and as a member of the golf tournament committee. “His support for me never wavered and his good works on behalf of HEAR Center has allowed us to keep our doors open and serve the speech and hearing impaired for all these years,” said Simon. Born on January 11, 1953, in Mexico City, Paredes’ family immigrated to the United States, settling in Boyle Heights. He graduated from Cal Poly, Pomona, where he received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering and worked in construction management, learning the trade from several large riprap companies. He later applied his construction management experience to establish Rock Structures Construction, managing flood control projects throughout Southern California, among other rock slope and erosion protections. Paredes died on Dec. 8, 2022. “Tony will be sorely missed,” Simon told guests at Paredes’ memorial. “To me, he will always be remembered as a good friend and an honored champion of HEAR Center for all the good works that he did.” HEAR Center’s Board Chair Armida Baylon, said in a statement that Peredes had a huge heart for the client stories that were shared at meetings. He donated the rock garden to the organization and now, “We want to tell his story. The dedication is a way that HEAR Center board and its staff can pay tribute to Tony’s generosity throughout the years and acknowledge his contribution and service.” The plaque dedication of the rock garden will be at the organization’s location on 301 E. Del Mar Blvd. in Pasadena. To learn more, visit hearcenter.org.
First published in the May 4 print issue of the Pasadena Outlook.
