Hi, my name is Mercedes and I’m creating this fundraiser for my family.

After a long and courageous battle with cancer, my dad has passed. My mother lost a husband who was the love of her life & my brother and I lost a father. He fought incredibly hard until the very end, holding onto hope through every setback and showing us all what true strength looks like.

Over the last years, my dad endured many sessions of chemotherapy, radiation, and the awful damages these treatments do to your body. Even when the became cancer more aggressive, he kept pushing forward — not just for himself, but for all of us and I couldn’t be any more proud.

Now that he’s at peace, I am hoping to raise funds to help cover the costs of his memorial and ease some of the financial burden on our family during this incredibly difficult time. This was a personal act of mine that can hopefully be shown as a gift to my family. We are still in the process of planning a memorial service and will share details as soon as we’re able. Our focus right now is on honoring his life and creating space for our family to heal.

I also want to share something deeper — a part of this story that we hope can touch others.

This journey taught us that life is too short to hold onto pain. During the hardest moments, our family came back together. We found our way to love, to speak honestly, and most importantly — to forgive.

So if you take anything from this story, let it be this:

Talk to your family. Show grace during conflict. Say “I love you” as many times as you can. Forgiveness can bring you peace.

“Sow righteousness for yourselves,

reap the fruit of unfailing love,

and break up your unplowed ground;

for it is time to seek the Lord,

until he comes

and showers his righteousness on you.”

– Hosea 10:12

Thank you for reading, for praying, for giving, and for helping us honor our dad — not only through this memorial but through the love and healing that came with it.

we have reached our goal and I am so thankful; if you can anything remaining is extra, welcomed and appreciated. ♥️

With love,

Mercedes & Family