JOSE PERALTA NOPERI was 28 years old when he froze to death on the ridge of the harsh Peloncillo Mountains, to the east of Douglas, AZ. Jose was dropped off on Hwy. 2 in Sonora, MX and walked toward the Guadalupe Canyon, where he climbed the 30 foot wall to enter the United States. He probably walked for days through the Peloncillo Mountains, before he succumbed to the ice and snow that he encountered on the trail. We have no way of knowing if he died alone or if the group that may have accompanied him stayed with him until his death. What a horrific loss for his family, who still mourns for their son, grandson, brother, husband, father.
The group that gathered today to honor his courage and pray for his family, including 4 students and a teacher from the Academy of Holy Angels in Demarest, New Jersey, promised to carry the memory of Jose into their lives, always remembering his deep love for family that called him to risk his own life for the full life of those he loved.
Pilgrimage of remembrance 