EDDIE CARRILLO

Eddie Carrillo  They broke the mold when he came into the world.  The vast hole in our hearts is immeasurable.  

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Born in Los Angeles, Carmen Edward Carrillo went by "Eddie" his entire life.  He called Culver City home, no matter where he was in the world.  He went to Culver City High School, but was drafted into the Army to go serve in the Vietnam War before graduation.  Eddie was successful during his time in the Army, but still couldn't wait to get out.  He safely returned to the United States in 1968. Upon his return, he attended LA Trade Tech College where he learned the plastering trade that became his lifelong career.  He started out his company as Eddie Carrillo Plastering and he grew the business into a thriving and respected plastering construction company in Los Angeles.  His had tremendous pride in employing and providing work to many skilled men over the 50 year career.  He loved spending time with friends and family. His best stories came from his times camping, fishing & water skiing.  Mammoth Pools Reservoir and Wagner's Campground was his peaceful place. He only stopped going when Parkinson's and a shattered hip wouldn't allow him to go comfortably.  He loved boats, fishing, cars and the color red. He loved traditional Mexican food and a Baja Fresh burrito, cake donuts with rainbow sprinkles and bread pudding (the way his mom made it).  You can read his obituary HERE.

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Family Life

He always called Debbie his "birthday present" because she was born 4 days before his birthday and brought home just in time. His most prized run-in with the law was stealing milk for his sisters. Later in life, Debbie and her husband, Don, were Eddie's best friends.  Their stories of good times are famous.

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He became a step-father to John when he was 2 and Laura when she was 5, when he married Doreen.  Brandy was born a few years later. He raised John as his own son - the only indicator of anything different was, and would ever be, John's last name wasn't Carrillo.  Eddie had a pride in his son that knew no bounds.  Eddie and John had a life together that included racing - motocross and dune buggies, water skiing, boating, camping, and John worked for Eddie in his teen years and again in his twenties. When Brandy lived in San Diego in her teenage years, he called her every day.  Every day. He liked to hold Brandy's hand and make her skip down the road with him. He loved that she drove a lowered truck and he paid for her to attend UCLA.  He continued to support her through law school. Eddie made sure he told Brandy and John frequently how proud he was of them and the adults and parents they had become. 

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He was at the birth of every grandchild.  He loved every minute with his grandkids and particularly loved pulling them wakeboarding behind his Malibu boat.  He went to soccer games, dance recitals and graduations.  He went to birthday parties and he laid the foundation for these kids about the importance of spending time together.

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The final decade of his life was with his wife, Linda.  They met when he was working on her house.  They were married in Hawaii.  When he found out he had Parkinson's, she was by his side every step of the way.  She kept him active - they went on long Sunday hikes as long as he could.  She took good care of him and he made sure to tell anyone who would listen.  

 

He spent a lot of time with his aunts, uncles and cousins, as a kid.  But it didn't end when he became an adult. Most of the times spent camping and on weekends were with family - at Uncle Phil's house or visiting Carrillo's restaurant. 

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Career

His career was long and fulfilling.  He worked on many famous people's houses, including Pricilla Presley, Johnny Carson, Dwight Yokum, the Spellings and Whoopi Goldberg. He worked on many stores on the world famous Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills and many unimaginable houses in Malibu.  He worked on some of galleries in the J. Paul Getty Museum. He ran the business out of the house on Bledsoe where he was also raising his family.  Some of the men that worked for him were considered family.  Some family became men that worked for him. He always had a job for someone willing to put in a day's hard work.

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Famous Quotes:

To Brandy: "It means something to be a Carrillo"

To Alexa and anyone else that he thought was a good person: "You know what, ... You're all right."

To Jeremy, Brandy's husband: "Yeah, Denny Waite and I made it down the hill from Mammoth Pools to North Fork in 30 minutes in a dune buggy with a 6 pack of beer!"

Doug Quick: "Eddie is the Mammoth Pools Patron."

  

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Eddie Carrillo

- Born February 12th, 1945

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- Sadly Left us on January 27th, 2021

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- Father to John Keefer and Brandy Carrillo 

 

- Grandfather to Alexa (Keefer) Cursoli, Jillian Keefer, Reyna Barnes and Justice Barnes

 

- Great-grandfather to be

 

- Husband to Linda

 

- Brother to Debbie and Terry

 

-Son to Carmen and Lucille

 

-Cousin and Nephew

 

-Friend to many