Born in Benson 1921, lived briefly at the Soza ancestral homestead ranch at Redington on the San Pedro river. Family oral history is that family travelled by covered wagon to Mesa. In 1925 the family travelled by train to California.

Attended public schools in Wilmington, CA, returned to Arizona, graduated with the first graduating Class of 1940, North Phoenix High School, Phoenix.

Graduated from land grant Pennsylvania State College (now University) Class of 1946, BA degree and commissioned Ensign USNR. In lieu of active naval duty, chose civilian life. Thus began a thirty year career in textiles exports, with residencies in the Philippine and Indonesia, extensive travels to Caribbean, South America, and South Africa company offices. Company transfer to California marked return to the west. Textile career was followed by fourteen years in Pasadena residential real estate sales.

Retirement in 1990 made possible the time to research subjects of interest, namely the Soza family genealogical and Arizona homestead histories.

Edward Soza
February 1998