Alejandro “Alex” Villanueva

Alejandro “Alex” Villanueva, age 79 of, Vermontville, MI passed away peacefully with family by his side on November 13, 2022, at his home in Vermontville.
Alex was born in Ionia, county, on March 3, 1943, the son of the late Catalina and Jose Villanueva. He was raised in the Sunfield area and attended Vermontville and Sunfield schools, completing his education through adult education as the valedictorian of his class. He married Beverly “Sue” (Ray) Villanueva on February 23, 1963, in Saranac, and in 1964 Alex and Sue moved to Vermontville where they established their home and raised their family together.
Alex was an automobile enthusiast, and in 1962 he began working at General Motors. During his tenure with GM, Alex’s strong work ethic, and his ability to diagnose any problem led him to leadership roles throughout the company. General Motors would often call on his skills to get production lines and bodyshop up to full capacity and was sent to several GM plants to get employee morals in line. Alex retired as a senior supervisor in 2010 after almost 48 years with the company.
His passion for cars was not limited to his work, during his spare time Alex enjoyed restoring all types of vehicles, including full engine rebuilds, meticulous body repair, and paint. Beyond working with cars the greatest joy of Alex’s life was his children and grandchildren. He truly enjoyed watching them all grow into hardworking, caring people just like himself and never missed a sporting event or extracurricular activity. Alex took great pride in taking care of each and every one of his children, whether it was cooking delicious meals for them, giving his wise advice, or just simply giving his shoulder to cry on, all of us knew we could always depend on him for anything. He was also well known for his “practical jokes” that he often played on the grandkids.
Alex is survived by his beloved wife, Sue Villanueva; his children, Jon (Lisa) Villanueva, Julie Villanueva (White), Scott Villanueva, Debbie Villanueva; brothers, Jaime (Eliana) Gonzales, Artemio (Anita) Villanueva; sister, Maria Ainsworth; 12 grandchildren; and 14 great grandchildren. Alex was preceded in death by his son, Dion Ray Villanueva; mother and father, Catalina and Jose Villanueva; sisters, Enriqueta Martinez and Esther Madison; brothers, Carlos, Leuz, and Roberto Villanueva; grandson, Trayce White; great-grandson, Asher Turner; and great great-granddaughter Avari Draper.
Funeral arrangements have been entrusted to Daniels Funeral Home – Nashville, conveniently located at 9200 East M-79 Hwy., Nashville, MI. For further details please visit our website at www.danielsfuneralhome.net.