It is in times of loss and grief where coming together as a community is most important, because we are Barstow Natives, and we have lost one of the beloved elders of our town, “Barstow Fred” Griego.

My dad was a wonderful man who loved his town and believed in the greatness and potential of what Barstow could be, and had been, during its height in the 1960’s and 70’s. He was truly a Barstow legend during his time and was deeply loved and will be fondly remembered as one of the greatest Motorcyclists in the high desert and possibly even all of Southern California. He had stories for days that will live in our memories forever; such as those of when he was a kid growing up with his “brothers” on Nancy St., or racing every track alongside other motor cycle legends in our deserts, romping through the dry lakebeds and hills of Death Valley with his best friends in their Baja bugs while blasting Pink Floyd and Alan Parsons, throwing the wildest of parties and having dated the prettiest of girls that he would always show us in old school-tattered photographs, reminiscing of his favorite times, best friends gone too soon, coolest spots to hang, favorite bands and songs, the best trails to follow, and sharing so much more about Barstow’s greatness and the land’s history, because he loved his town and the people in it more than anyone I have ever met. A true native of Barstow, born and raised, he truly was one of the town’s last living legends from its glory days. The Mojave ran through his body and soul, he loved it greatly and knew it better than most. His loss is monumental to all that knew him and he is going to be warmly remembered and greatly missed.

His passing was highly unexpected, and my father left behind three daughters with zero finances to support or aid in any way for the expenses that are to come following his death, including that of his funeral. In addition, looking at the bigger picture, we have acquired numerous expenses that we are unable to afford. For those of you who knew him, would know he was a collector of many things and a very poor organizer; thus, he has left us with a mountain to mine, and we have to sift through every piece of mail, look through every drawer or box, unpack every storage and hope that we can find what we need in an attempt to not lose our childhood home, his desert dwelling home in Newberry Springs, along with other possessions that he left behind.

He still supported his children and grandchildren in many ways, and without him, life is going to be incredibly challenging. Nothing will ever be the same for us as we now have only my father’s sister, our aunt Sylvia, to help guide us through this next chapter.

We are kindly asking for any support able to be given, financially, physically, or mentally, as we trek forward in this process; our first major expense being his cremation and funeral, a rough estimated cost of $8000 so that we can host a nice memorial for him where our friends and family can gather to celebrate the life of a wonderful man, our father, Fred Griego.

Any remaining funds will be going to my sisters and I to help with paying any probate lawyer fees, property taxes, utilities on his houses, and storage fees until we are able to figure out how to move forward with selling or donating the few assets he had. It is going to be a long, challenging, and expensive process, in which every penny counts and is greatly and immeasurably appreciated by what is left of our small family.

My sisters and I cannot thank you all enough for taking the time to read this, and for lending a hand during this unexpected and difficult time. We have lost both of our parents fairly young, and we now look to our community of friends and loved ones for help and guidance.

Thank you again, you are all greatly appreciated, and we sincerely look forward to hearing all of your stories about our dad, and we are happy to share all of our stories of him with you as well when we host his services in the near future.