On the morning of December 18th, my nephew, Geoff Bernardi was attacked and brutally beaten in an act of senseless violence. He was left with severe brain injuries and swelling. He had multiple skull fractures, and his face and head were swollen beyond recognition. He was taken to Community Regional Medical Center with injuries that would prove fatal. We were told he had a .0001 percent chance of recovering, and that if he did recover, his brain damage would be severe.

Rather than planning our holiday the week before Christmas, we sat vigil over the broken body of our boy, waiting for him to be pronounced brain dead and working to get as many of his organs as possible matched with donor registrants. We wanted some good to come from this horror. We said our final goodbye to Geoff in an Honor Walk, escorting his beaten body from the trauma unit to the OR where surgical teams awaited. My family is wrecked by this loss. Geoff deserved so much better.

I called him the Family Man. More than any of the kids, Geoff loved big family gatherings with everyone shouting over each other to be heard. We’re a big family with lots of drama and fights, but in the end, we always have each other’s backs. We had been fighting lately and had not had those easy family get-togethers. It breaks my heart – Geoff above everyone loved those moments most. Life is short. You think there will always be time. There isn’t.

Geoff was a contradiction. He was passionate. He was stubborn and hard-headed. He loved to argue. He would argue with you over anything from politics to how to tie your shoelaces. He was a lot like my father. He had a love of history, politics and sports. He could rattle off random sports stats, talk current events or argue politics with anyone.

He was a mountain man from an early age, going on his first camping trip before he could walk. He loved spending time at Shaver with the family, and spent lots of time helping Erin with projects around her Shaver Lake home. He loved his mom and was fiercely loyal and protective of her. He loved animals, especially cats. He was a cat man.

He was a stagehand and a sound man. He had a love of theater, music and the arts. He worked for years honing his craft in the IATSE Local 158 with his union brothers. In recent years, had had found his home and a career doing what he loved at Clovis Unified School District working as AV Design Tech running the theater for Clovis Unified productions. He was growing in a job he loved working with people he loved. He was happy and thriving.

He was a son. He was a brother. He was a nephew. He was a cousin. He was a friend. He was an uncle, with nieces he adored. I think more than anything, he loved being an uncle. A former Bullard Volleyball player, he was thrilled to be mentoring his niece Morgan who’s playing volleyball at Clovis High. He was loved.

He was our hard-headed, hot-tempered Italian boy. He fought hard and loved hard. He was our beautiful, frustrating, funny, smart, sensitive, infuriating, passionate, pig-headed, loving, caring, complicated boy and we are completely rocked to the core by this loss. He was a beautiful contradiction and we will miss him forever. Family gatherings will never be the same.

As my family and I are trying to survive this unimaginable loss, we find ourselves facing unexpected and still unknown expenses relating to Geoff’s passing. We appreciate any and all support if you are able.