Family, friends and roots were very important to Manuel Sandoval. He grew up in a large extended family and community. Most of the children he played with lived nearby as adults, and their children have grown up together as well. From this childhood, he learned the value of family and friends, how they mix and become one.

After college, Manuel returned home to teach history and PE and coach football, basketball, track, and cross country at the same schools he had attended as a child. In 1999, he coached two state champions. That same year, he was awarded “Assistant Track Coach of the Year in New Mexico.”

In January 2000, he became a guidance counselor while working on his masters in educational administration, and later became assistant principal for guidance services after receiving his degree. In 2004, he returned to the classroom and coaching.

Out of school, Manuel enjoyed camping, fishing, hunting, running, traveling, watching the Dallas Cowboys, and sharing these good times with his family: his wife, Melanie, and their children, Megan and Manny. Manuel was a history buff and would tell incredible stories during the family’s travels. One of his favorite places was Gettysburg. “He was enthralled with the history and shared it with us, giving the details and creating pictures in our minds of battles and hardships of the soldiers,” recalled Melanie.

Manuel also enjoyed the “cowboy” way of life, raising and breeding a few cattle, wearing his cowboy hat, and driving his beloved truck. He was posthumously inducted into the Heritage Rodeo Arena Hall of Fame.

Manuel died suddenly of an aneurism on November 25, 2008. He was 46 years old, vibrant and healthy. Manuel had registered to be a donor on his New Mexico driver’s license. As a donor, he was able to donate his kidneys, liver, pancreas, heart valves, corneas, bone and tissue. His children were quite adamant about organ donation.

“A few months before his death, when Megan was getting her license, we had a discussion at dinner one night about being organ donors. The kids remembered this when the time came and the nurse asked if he was an organ donor. They answered before I even had a chance to think about the question. The outpouring of love and support during this painful time was incredible,” said Melanie.