A year ago this very month, Philip Monroe “PJ” Pedro IV died in a tragic vehicle accident in Tehama County. PJ was a passenger in a vehicle when he lost his life on Saturday, Oct. 16, 2021.
He was born in La Junta, Colo., to Philip Monroe Pedro III and Danni Mundahl-Scheffee on March 2, 1999. He attended elementary through junior high school in Orland.
He proudly received his high school diploma through the Job Corps in Utah, where he also obtained a degree in culinary arts. He then returned to Orland to put to use his newfound skills, working at East Coast Foods, located at the time on Walker Street. His coworkers there became like family.
However, PJ was an adventurous man and took a liking to exploring other trades, and later attended the Job Corps in Sacramento to become a heavy equipment operator. Upon completion, he became a proud member of the International Operating Engineers Union #3 in Northern California.
PJ had a passion and talent for heavy equipment of all kinds and enjoyed bettering himself daily with new challenges that he took on brazenly. Beyond the framed and signatured papers on the wall, PJ made his loved ones very proud, more so that despite innate adversity, complete determination was maintained, not only for his own self and future, but with much compassion for others as well, and their happiness almost always before his own.
His hobbies often centered around his family as well as his friends, enjoying musical forms of all sorts alongside a variety of artistic activities, and could often be found outdoors or with his pets – none of these activities ever absent of his unmistakable voice perpetually making those around him laugh.
PJ, who loved to joke around, knew how to keep most everyone’s spirits high, always working his hardest to help them find a better path, no matter the person. He truly had a vision for a positive future and positive thought process that he tried to instill in everyone he met.
Very seldom could PJ be found without a charismatic smile between his cheeks and within his voice, one that couldn’t help but be noticed alongside his lighthearted wit and playful actions.
PJ’s world truly was his family. He loved them in a way that couldn’t be denied by anyone, as he was constantly beaming with pride about the accomplishments and characteristics of each of them, clearly dear to his heart in a way not many people of such a young age tend to emanate.
He is survived by his parents, Phil and Dani; six siblings in Colorado Springs: Meriah Morgan, Nariah Smith, and Bryan, Bradley, Analyce and Aidan Scheffee; in California, his treasured Schroer family: aunt, Jeanette; uncle, Opie; cousins, Sunny, Justin and Trent, Dylan and Emma; aunt Tricia Ricca; cousins, Deanna, Danielle, and Bailey; and in turn many great-nieces and -nephews; and uncle Scott Pedro and family; his beloved girlfriend of three years, Macie Bacon; and lifelong friends, TJ Taylor and Brantley Begely, whom he would consider family as well.
He was preceded in death by his grandfather, Philip M. Pedro, Jr.; and his grandmother, Francine H. Hecker.
His loved ones agree, “We all in our own ways adore PJ and idolize still his kind heart and uplifting spirit, in which the absence has left a huge hole in our hearts, unfillable even with all the joyous memories we now hold even closer to our hearts as each day moves past. His presence in our lives was impactful in a variety of forms and learning to carry forward without him ripples through us like a silent weight that we must learn to overcome, using his voice and positivity as guidance.
“Words simply cannot express the grief that has struck our family, in which such an event bereaved us of one of our most radiant souls.”
The Glenn County Observer 