Christian Saldivar Pineda

     Christian Saldivar Pineda was a joyful, warm-hearted, and compassionate son, brother, godfather, uncle, cousin, and friend. He was born on July 15, 1975, in Manila, Philippines, to Ricardo L. Pineda and our late mother, Emerita Saldivar Pineda. He was the second eldest of four children. The family immigrated to Los Angeles, California, where Christian was raised and lived through eternal rest after battling multiple health issues. 

     Christian attended Lockwood Avenue Elementary School, where he was admitted to the Gifted and Talented Education program.  Then at Thomas Starr King Junior High School, he played flag football, was a member of the Journalism club, and wrote for the school’s newspaper. He also held leadership roles in other clubs and organizations. Christian was selected to the competitive nine-member Academic Pentathlon Team at King JHS. Christian then graduated from John Marshall High School (Class of 1994) in the Los Feliz area of L.A. In high school, he was an exceptional student leader while serving as Senior Class President and was voted Mr. Barrister for his excellent leadership service and school spirit. He was also a member of the Speech/Debate Team in which he placed and won awards in city/county-wide competitions against several other high school students, particularly in the Spontaneous Argumentation debate-type category. In addition, Christian played football at Marshall HS. While attending college, he was an active member of a service and social fraternity. He served as a Service and Fundraising Chairman and a Pledge Master. 

     As a professional career, Christian focused mainly on sales, marketing, distribution, and customer service. Since 2003, Christian worked for Budomart America, Inc., offering high-quality martial arts and combat sports products and a large number of quality brands and products including Tokaido, adidas, and many others. Christian and the company catered to all types of martial artists and fitness athletes to those practicing Karate, Judo, Aikido, Taekwondo, Boxing, MMA, and Brazilian Jiu-jitsu. He had several clients across the United States. His knowledge, skills, and friendliness impressed the customers, and he established a strong relationship and rapport with them for many years. Christian was later promoted to Director of Sales.

     In his spare time, he enjoyed watching L.A. sports teams such as the Dodgers, Lakers, Rams, and USC football with family members and friends. He was a USC and Dodgers sports fanatic, and owned several apparels and paraphernalia. Christian also liked watching movies, comedy shows, Jeopardy, documentaries, and reading/watching shows about U.S. and world history. He also enjoyed spending time with his cousins, nieces, and nephews by going out to dinners, latte/boba drinks, beaches, social events, and theme parks. He also spent quality time with his best friends and fraternity brothers. 

     Christian is survived by his father, Ricardo; sister, Christine and brother-in-law, Joe; and youngest brother, Ryan. Unfortunately, Christian’s other brother, Richard, passed away six months prior to Christian’s passing. Christian also leaves behind several friends, near and far, and relatives who became very close to him throughout the years. 

     Our beloved, Christian will be missed tremendously by all who knew him, and may he rest in eternal peace.

     Arrangements are under the care of Forest Lawn, Glendale, CA.

     -Written by R. Pineda, brother