=
Expand search form

Remembering Nabor – Long-standing city employee leaves legacy

By Melissa Wagoner

Nabor Castro’s face was familiar to many Silvertonians, including Barbara Nusbaum Rivoli who, on Aug. 16, 2021, wrote in a Facebook post on Silverton Connections, “For many years I have been coming to the… YMCA building on Water Street in Silverton. There has been one consistently helpful, kind, friendly and hard-working city worker there tending to the maintenance of the building, Nabor Castro. Nabor’s presence is one of the amazing aspects of this Community.”

An employee of the City of Silverton’s Public Works Maintenance Division for 18 years, Nabor was – according to his son, Jaime – known for his friendly and respectful demeanor, greeting those he met with a smile and a handshake.

“My Dad was a hard worker…” Jaime said of his father who was born in San Juan, Texas in July of 1937. He was one of the five children of Silvestre and Isabel Castro.

“My dad followed his brother, Macardio, to Oregon… in the summer of 1969…” Jaime said. “He initially began working for Willamette Egg Farms…”

Employed in several other vocations during the next 35 years, including as a bus driver and custodian for two school districts, Nabor began working for the City of Silverton in April 2004, quickly becoming a familiar face in the community.

“Nabor Castro kept our Community Center and other city buildings tidy…” Hilary Dumitrescu – a former employee of Sheltering Silverton, an organization housed in the Community Center basement – wrote in another Facebook post. 

“During COVID lockdown, he and I were often the only people at the community center, and exchanging pleasantries across a distance with him was sometimes the only human contact I had besides my own family…”

But even those who interacted with Nabor outside of his workday enjoyed their time with him.

“He was a great guy,” Mayor Jason Freilinger said, recalling his interactions with Nabor, first as a business owner, then in his work with Maps Credit Union. “We had a running joke about me owing him a million dollars… He always brought me great joy and a smile on my face. He of course was always smiling… Truly a special man.”

Raised by a single mother after his father died when Nabor was four, he was “a bit rebellious during his early childhood years,” according to Jaime. But eventually he settled down, marrying Irma Aurora Mendoza in 1956, and becoming a hardworking father of five, grandfather of nine and great grandfather of two.

“He was proud of his work,” Jaime said. “He would endeavor to do his best..always… He would go out of his way to help anyone in need, family and friends.”

That was the life he lived for 84 years until, on March 20, 2024, Nabor suffered an unexpected and catastrophic stroke.

“It is with heavy hearts and condolences that we learn of Nabor Castro’s passing…” a representative from the City of Silverton wrote in a Facebook post. “He will always be remembered as a kind member of our team and community.”

That’s what Jaime thinks his father would have wanted most – to leave behind a legacy that can’t be quantified, to “leave people better off than how he found them.”

Previous Article

In Memoriam: Carrol A. Waggoner (March 9, 1937 – April 5, 2024)

Next Article

Letter to the Editor: Demand more – Silver Falls School District budget requires action

You might be interested in …

Health fair

Silverton High School seniors Jared Hilton and Becca Cross invite the community to a free Health Fair from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., April 18, at St. Edward’s Episcopal Church, Fairview and Center streets, Silverton. A senior project, the event is designed to answer questions and promote ways to stay healthy. There will be booths and guest speakers who will […]

SHS grad night party in need of help

Each spring the Silver Fox Foundation hosts an all-night celebration for that year’s senior class.  “The party is always the night of graduation,” long-time organizer Erica Rumpca said. “Kids will load buses at 10 p.m. and we will transport them to the party returning the following morning at 6 a.m.” Originally created as a way to keep drugs and alcohol […]

SortaSausage: Necessity is mother of invention, hard work is key to success

There are two slogans that apply to Molly Ainsley: “When the going gets tough, the tough get going” and “Think globally, act locally.” Ainsley, owner and operator of Rolling Hills Bakery and Café in Silverton, had launched her business shortly before the economy crashed. Although it has been a popular place for a cup of coffee and a muffin or a slice of quiche; it’s been a tough go. A year ago, friends offered to help serve in the morning so she could reduce labor costs. This not only got her over the hump for the short term, it allowed Ainsley a bit of time to think about her options.