Obituary of Marcos Manuel Contreras

Marcos died Wednesday December 27^th at Inova Fairfax Hospital in Fairfax VA, due to complications from surgery.

He leaves behind a loving wife of 57 years, Florcina Troncos, Three Sons Ricardo, Marcos and William; two daughters Margarita and Violet; seven grandkids Christine, Kathy, Nicole, Andrew, Gabriela, Peter and Amanda; two great grandchildren Atticus and Anais; and a plethora of family and friends who loved him unconditionally.

Born and raised in a small rural town of southern Chile, Pemuco situated between the ocean and the foothills of the Andes mountains, the third eldest son of Clara Quijon.

His birthday will forever be unknown as there are two certificates which state 9/23/38 and 5/21/37. Only special men have two birthdays.

In his early years, he was sent to live with his aunt and uncle in Rancagua where he helped them run the local family grocery store.  From early childhood, they taught him that through hard work and perseverance he could accomplish all he wanted out of life.  He would hold this truth to his very last days. 

In his teens, he was sent back home to Pemuco where he began playing soccer at which he excelled.     As a left center back, Marcos went on to play at many levels in the fifty’s ultimately reaching futbol club O’Higgins for which he played a couple of games.

He joined the military at seventeen and served as a mechanic for 2 years.

After the military, he met his wife and was married to her on July 20 1961.  Together they moved to the capital Santiago in search of a better future for their growing family.  In Santiago Marcos worked at many trades, including hearse driver and gas station attendant.

In 1979 he would embark on the grandest journey of his life moving to the United States, alone with his eldest daughter and a dream.

He arrived in Annandale VA and began apprenticing as a stone mason alongside his eldest and youngest brothers.

In August of 1980, Marcos achieved his ultimate dream of moving his entire family to the united states.

The family settled in Fairfax County VA where most of them still reside to this day.

Marcos worked as a stone mason until he was forced into retirement in 2002 due to illness.

In the following years, he would return to Chile with his wife and build their retirement home together in Chillan Chile.  After the home was complete they began chasing an eternal summer by flying back and forth between the US and Chile.

In early 2017 Marcos decided to move back to the US permanently as his health had begun deteriorating for the past couple of years.

His legacy will forever be reflected in the accomplishments of those who come after him and follow in his footsteps.