“We are a very tight family,” Jorge Monraz said. “Everyone who knows us knows the Monraz family is always together.”
So, when the family faced adversity four years ago it was family togetherness that helped create a secure future.
Jorge places a special value on family and security largely due to his own upbringing.
Born in 1978, Jorge and his two brothers were raised by their single mother in the Los Angeles region, where they faced difficult financial times.
They spent nights in a car and would take showers at a community park. They slept in an abandoned house where the windows were boarded and lived with their grandmother in Tijuana.
“I knew what it was like to be hungry,” Jorge said.
He had some interactions with his father over the years, which often resulted in physical and emotional abuse.
Things improved when his mother remarried, but they still lived in tough neighborhoods.
“I hung out with gang because that was all there was. They were neighbors. At the time gangs seemed normal to me.
“There was a lot of anger in me, and I didn’t know how to control myself,” he said while describing how he regularly participated in gang-related fights.
But a high school football coach helped him learn self-control and change directions. “My coach made an impression on me and helped make me who I am today — the emphasis on family, teamwork and community,” he said.
His strong work ethic increasingly diverted him from the streets. Beginning at age 12 and continuing through high school, he worked for a paving contractor cleaning parking lots.
After graduating high school in 1997, he worked the next 24 years for various paving contractors, climbing the ladder from laborer to heavy equipment operator to sales to supervisor.
In 2016, Jorge, his wife, Julie, and their four children moved to San Diego where Jorge was employed as vice president of operations for a paving contractor.
However, in December 2020, adversity struck the Monraz family.
Jorge’s mother and step-father ed away from COVID-19. Jorge and Julie were also seriously stricken. Both were hospitalized and placed on oxygen. Jorge’s prognosis was not good.
Their children, then ranging from ages 8 to 19, lived in the family’s home while their parents were hospitalized. Neighbors periodically checked on them.
Both parents pulled through and returned home, but things would change.
“Our kids came close to losing their parents and being on their own without being prepared,” Jorge said. “We survived for a second chance.”
So, at a family dinner in January, 2021, they discussed their future. Jorge asked for ideas and Dazani, their oldest, then 19, spoke for the four children and suggested a family business where they work together and the children learn the business.
The family began a new path.
Six months later TMC (The Monraz Company) Engineering, a San Diego concrete and paving company, opened. It began with five employees: Jorge, Julie (company president) and three of their children (the fourth was still in grade school).
Today, TMC has 25 employees and grosses nearly $7 million annually.
“I tell our kids the only way to get experience is to put in the time. Things don’t always come easy,” Jorge said.
“They work hard, often beginning at 4 a.m., and they’re motivated, in part, because it’s our family.”
Jorge gives back to the community in gratitude for those who have touched his and his family’s lives. Recalling medical staff’s care during the pandemic, he serves on the Palomar Health Foundation board. Recalling the football coach, Jorge served seven years as president of Del Norte High School’s Touchdown Club.
And, his experience growing up amid gangs drives him to law enforcement. His work with the Honorary Deputy Sheriff’s Association earned him recognition as honorary assistant sheriff.
The Monraz family — Jorge, Julie, Dazani, Jorge Jr., Ryan and Eric — live together in Escondido. They understand the value of family togetherness. It helped them overcome adversity and build a safer and better life.
About this series
Goldsmith is a Union-Tribune contributing columnist.
We welcome reader suggestions of people who have done something extraordinary or otherwise educational, inspiring or interesting and who have not received much previous media. Please send suggestions to Jan Goldsmith at [email protected]
