1928-2021: Efrain Rivadeneyra, Morse Code translator, elementary crossing guard, dies

For more than a decade, Efrain Rivadeneyra Sauri, donned his reflective vest, grabbed his stop sign and stood near Thornebrooke Elementary School, ready to help students safely cross the street and onto campus. He was a familiar face at the school, and students were eager to get a daily greeting from BuBu, as he was affectionately called.

Rivadeneyra, a Gotha resident, died Monday, Jan. 18, at the age of 92.

LIFE IN MEXICO

He was born July 2, 1928, in the small city of Motul in the Mexican state of Yucatan, where schooling ended after sixth grade. The lack of a full formal education was never a hindrance; Rivadeneyra continued learning trades and skills his entire life, starting when he was a young boy.

Rivadeneyra grew up in a large family, and his father insisted he and his siblings find a job or activity to keep them busy during their summer breaks. When he was 8, he gained experience on a typewriter and the saxophone from a man who had an affinity for teaching. He worked for a shoemaker one summer and helped a carpenter build a boat another year.

He learned Morse Code at the post office and telegraph office when he was 12, explaining in a 2012 audio interview with his family that he had to train his ear to listen for the dot and the dash.

He enjoyed it so much that he and a friend stretched a line of wire between their two houses so they could communicate. From there, they spoke to other neighbors and ended up wiring about a dozen homes. His translation skills would prove useful more than a decade later when he served in the U.S. Army.

Rivadeneyra’s family had two ranches full of horses, cattle, chickens, fruits and vegetables, and that’s how his father provided for the large family. When the Mexican land reform forced the redistribution of land, the family lost everything.

In his family interview, Rivadeneyra told the story of his father trying to entertain all of his children while ensuring they cleaned their plates. Their dinnerware had various animals printed on the bottom, and he would choose which children he would take to the movies by calling out an animal. They had to finish their meals so they could turn over their plates.

LINES OF COMMUNICATION

Life was hard after the government took the land, family members said, and Rivadeneyra left home when he was a teenager.

In 1949, while visiting a sister living in New York City, Rivadeneyra’s brother-in-law offered him a job; this led him to become a legal resident of the United States. At the time, the U.S. military still had the draft, and Rivadeneyra was drafted into the U.S. Army in 1951.

In boot camp, the officers discovered that he could transmit 36 words a minute in Morse Code, nearly double the required amount to become a radio operator. He was deployed to Karlsruhe, Germany, for the post-World War II allied occupation of the country. He was assigned to the Army's 17th Signal Operation Battalion, where he was in charge of a communications truck for the Radio Operation Company. During his deployment, Rivadeneyra sent and received coded messages for the Western Bloc during the early years of the Cold War. After serving two years, he returned to the United States in 1953.

At the time, non-citizen U.S. service members could have the option upon honorable discharge of becoming naturalized, and so he became a citizen in 1953. He served in the U.S. Army reserves for the next seven years. After his service, He moved to Venezuela.

In 1961, he married the love of his life, Aminta Ochoa, and they had three children.

His time in the Army as a radio operator led him to a successful decades-long career in communications and television production in Venezuela, where he installed three different television networks and built the country’s entire communications system.

According to his family, he would go into a village, hire all the villagers and their donkeys and have them hack their way up to the top of the highest hills, transporting the steel beams and transmission equipment. They built each tower within line of sight of the last one.

HOMETOWN HERO

In 1992, Rivadeneyra and his family returned to the United States. He moved to Orlando in 2002.

In 2019, the Orlando Magic NBA basketball team recognized Rivadeneyra in its Hometown Hero program for his military service and his 11 years as a crossing guard with the Orange County Sheriff’s Office.

Rivadeneyra applied for the street-patrol position at Thornebrooke Elementary School when his grandson, Shade Crampton, attended school there. He remained on the job for 11 years because he created a strong bond with the Thornebrooke families.

Everyone knew him as BuBu, the nickname Shade gave him as a toddler. He retired in 2017.

Christopher Daniels, Thornebrooke principal, fondly recalled Rivadeneyra’s years as a crossing guard for the school.

“Over his many years working at the busy three-way stop in front of Thornebrooke Elementary, Mr. Efrain worked hard in all types of weather to welcome the students and to keep them safe,” he said. “He is highly thought of and respected for his positive and caring nature. He was ‘famous,’ waving hello to every car that came through the intersection, which was often well over 100. He ‘made’ the mornings for many students with his smiles and with his waves.

“Two high school students who went to Thornebrooke as elementary-age children noted recently that ‘he was the sweetest person’ and that ‘you could easily tell he loved his job,’” Daniels said.

In addition to his wife, Rivadeneyra is survived by children, Aitza Crampton, Eric Rivadeneyra and Edwin Rivadeneyra; his grandchildren, Arianny, Edwin, Shade, Mayan and Natalia; his first grandchild, Maia, who was born on the same day he died; and four siblings.