Jorge Javier Alfaro Soto was born on January 31, 1950, in Zamora, Michoacán, Mexico, to Margarita and Jesús Alfaro. His father, a manager of the train station in Zamora, encouraged his son's education and ambitions from an early age. Jorge's earliest memories were rooted in the life of his hometown: playing basketball, enjoying locally made fruit candies, singing in the boys' choir, and serving as an acolyte at his church. As a boy, he also ran messages and notifications from the train station to local merchants awaiting their shipments. These early experiences remained part of the story he carried with him throughout his life. 

With his father's support and encouragement, Jorge eventually attended the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM). He began his studies as a pre-med student before discovering his path in law. He earned his Licenciado en Derecho, qualifying him to practice law in Mexico. After completing his studies, Jorge moved to Guadalajara, Jalisco, where he worked as counsel for a hospital. During this period, he married and became the father of two sons, Jorge and Pedro. 

The marriage later ended in divorce. Seeking a change, and encouraged by his uncle, Jorge left Guadalajara and moved to Mexico City. There, he worked for Mexico's Ministry of Public Education, serving under the Undersecretary of Sports. It was during this chapter of his life that Jorge met Celea Shaver, an American expatriate teaching English in Mexico. They fell in love, and in 1983, despite knowing no English, Jorge followed Celea back to her hometown of Fresno, California. 

They married and began a new life together, welcoming their son Robert and later their children Virginia and Aaron. The language barrier made establishing himself professionally in the United States difficult. Unable to pass the California bar examination or the CBEST, Jorge found another path forward. He worked his way into Fresno Unified School District, eventually becoming a home-and-school liaison. 

His interest in education and teaching remained with him, and he later returned to school to pursue a master's degree in Spanish at California State University, Fresno. His thesis was a collection of short stories that he wrote himself, and he completed his Master of Arts degree in 2010. Around the time he completed his degree, Jorge took early retirement from Fresno Unified and turned his attention toward finding opportunities to teach Spanish and tending to his prolific garden. 

Jorge is survived by his children, Jorge, Pedro, Robert, Virginia, and Aaron, and by nine grandchildren.