‘Champion’ of Kansas City’s West Side & Chicano community leader dies at age 77
Charles Olvera Lona wasn’t just a resident of Kansas City’s West Side.
He was its champion.
“People knew when they needed protection or help of some kind, they knew to come to him,” William “Memo” Lona, Charles’ brother, told The Star.
Charles Lona, affectionately known by family and friends as Charlie or Chuck, died on June 26, 2024 at his home, surrounded by family and friends, according to his obituary. He was born October 14, 1946, in Kansas City to parents Wesley and Luz Lona. He is remembered as an activist, businessman and “rebel,” his family said.
“He had charisma, he was a force of nature to be reckoned with,” Memo Lona said. “But he also had a soft side. He loved our family get-togethers, having dinners, birthday parties, those kinds of things.”
Charlie Lona and siblings Wesley Lona, Esther Lona and Memo Lona grew up in Kansas City’s West Side. He graduated from Westport High School, before attending Metropolitan Community College, according to the obituary. He worked for the family business, which he renamed Lona and Sons Hydraulics, Inc., also based in the West Side.
Champion of the West Side
His dedication to the West Side community began at an early age.
Kansas City’s West Side neighborhood is a historically Hispanic neighborhood that boomed to life at the turn of the 20th century. Following the Mexican Revolution, immigrants from Mexico made their way to the neighborhood, seeking railroad and meatpacking jobs.
But any early prosperity the immigrants enjoyed became difficult for some to maintain in their West Side home.
Lona and his brother, Memo Lona, used to ask themselves if it was the West SIde’s fault that “it’s a blighted, neglected neighborhood,” Memo Lona said.
The men questioned if the community deserved the treatment they saw it receiving.
“And we came to the conclusion that it was not the people’s fault,” Memo Lona said. “It was the fault of institutions that were disinvesting from the community. And that sort of started him on the path and he became in particularly aware of the Chicano Movement.”
Charlie Lona became acquainted with the leaders of the Chicano Movement, a nationwide effort for Mexican-American equality, according to the National Museum of the American Latino. Advocates protested, participating in strikes and boycotts, for better living and working conditions, according ot the museum.
Charlie Lona became particularly close with Rudolfo “Corky” Gonzalez of Denver, a leader in the movement, according to a list of Lona’s accomplishments provided to The Star.
“He took us everywhere,” Charlie Lona’s youngest son, Timothy “Tim” Lona, said. “We were there at the marches, we were there at the meetings, the rallies. And if we didn’t want to go, we still had to go.”
In the West Side, Charlie Lona worked to unite different Chicano Communities and strengthen the greater community. Among other achievements, he organized a Mexican Independence Day demonstration to unite the Missouri and Kansas Chicano communities, established a Kansas City chapter of the Brown Berets, created the Aztlan Center, which provided after-school programs to local children, and helped establish the Guadalupe Centers as a community organization.
Today, the Guadalupe Centers’ mission is to “improve lives in Latino communities throughout the Kansas City area,” according to its website. As of 2022, It has provided $566,510 in assistance, served 36 zip codes, served 451,546 meals and impacted over 20,000 people.
“Guadalupe Centers honors and celebrates the extraordinary life and legacy of Charles O. Lona,” A proclamation presented to Lona’s family by the Guadalupe Centers read. “His contributions have left an indelible mark on our community, and his voice of change will continue to inspire and guide future generations.”
The Guadalupe Centers was originally run by the Catholic Diocese of Kansas City, Memo Lona said. But it was Charlie Lona who paved the path for the organization to become community-run, helping establish the organization’s non-profit status, said Jason Wood, Guadalupe Centers Chief Development Officer.
Not only did Charlie Lona help separate the Guadalupe Centers from the diocese, but “his biggest point was making sure that these services stayed here in the community,” Wood said.
A family affair
Charlie Lona was also a devoted businessman and family man. He helped run his father’s automotive business, renaming it Lona and Son Electrical Rebuilding. His sons, Chris and Tim Lona, rebranded the business with their father to Lona and Sons Hydraulics.
“And then when Chris and Tim became of age, they decided to take another turn in the business and they became specialized in building custom cars that are known as low riders,” Memo Lona said.
Chris and Tim Lona were did more of the mechanical work for the business, while Charlie Lona did more of the promotion for the business, Chris Lona said.
“He would push us to go to different events to promote lowriding,” Tim Lona said. “And we started wanting to do little shows and stuff, just to show it. We weren’t the first to do hydraulics here in town, but we were the ones that promoted it nationwide and Midwest-wide.”
Chris and Tim Lona began making their own equipment for lowriding, taking their cars to events and car shows nationwide, Tim Lona said.
At one such event, as Tim Lona raced around the track, the men were met with boos and racially charged language. Tim Lona said Charlie Lona was composed throughout the ordeal.
“Because that was the one thing, if you talk to anybody about my father was, he was nonviolent,” Tim Lona said. “He wasn’t the guy that would go out and use military force and whatever. He was a negotiator. But if you need to find out, he’ll let you find out.”
Tim Lona said his father taught him to always “use your brain first” instead of resorting to violence.
But, Charlie Lona was “a man of everyone,” Tim Lona said.
“Regardless of your race or anything, he was for good people,” Tim Lona said.
Outside of his business and advocacy ventures, Charlie Lona loved spending time outdoors and traveling with his family, his daughter, Charleigh Lona, said.
“He loved to dream about just everything,” Charleigh Lona said. “Always in his mind about how he could build something, or what vacation he could take all the family on, ‘cause he was always wanting everybody to be together.”
Charlie Lona also loved the Kansas City Chiefs – but he wasn’t able to watch the games because he was so superstitious about their success, Memo Lona said.
A West Side legacy
Each of Lona’s kids have taken a different life lesson from their father throughout the years.
“Be a man, take care of your family, don’t back down, don’t be afraid,” Chris Lona said.
He taught Tim Lona that anything is possible.
“We did some crazy things that should not have worked, coming from our background, and we made it work. Anything is possible,” Tim Lona said.
Charlie Lona had a soft spot for his daughter. Charleigh Lona, who was named after her father, said he taught her to protect herself.
“Just how to really maneuver in this world by myself and be fearless doin’ it, with my head held high,” Charleigh Lona said.
Lona’s last contribution to the community was an effort to build a swimming pool in the West Side. He had helped complete a deal to restore the pool when the money was used for something else, Memo said. Charlie Lona was extremely upset about the deal falling through, Tim Lona said.
“I said, ‘Wait a minute dad, let me tell you something,’” Tim Lona said. “‘I got a feeling that this is not over. ‘ I said, ‘You got way too much noise. Something’s gonna happen.’”
A group of women that were close to Lona, that he affectionately called his “soldiers,” contacted The Star about the issue. The Star’s editorial board wrote about the pool in June 2023.
“And [the article] woke up a lot of people downtown,” Tim Lona said. “And I sat back and laughed and said, ‘See dad?’”
The pool is set to be installed by next year, Memo Lona said.
“He was human and he would get tired and he would be down, but that’s why I’m taking this thing about the champion,” Memo Lona said. “Muhammad Ali, greatest fighter, greatest boxer, champion. He got knocked down, he got hurt, so did Charlie. They’re human. But they are champions in their own right and their own field.”
Charlie Lona’s celebration of life was Sunday at the Guadalupe Centers.
