George Sanchez was born on February 20, 1972, and from the very beginning, he carried a deafening strength that would come to define his entire life. Throughout his time on earth, George became a father of five children: Krystal, Katrina, Kassandra, Kaylee, and Georgie, as well as a grandfather to many more. To us, George was more than just a grandpa, or dad, or brother. George was a teaching of strength, resilience, and determination all wrapped into one gentle soul. George had a variety of other passions and talents that seemed to flow effortlessly to him. One of these being painting, George loved the time to teach his sons-in-law a few things about his craft, sharing not only his skill but pieces of himself. George’s life was built around family and movement, and in those things, he found happiness.

In the past year, our family watched as his strength was tested in ways we never imagined. My grandpa was diagnosed with stage four pancreatic cancer. The man who had always seemed so strong was suddenly fighting the hardest battle of his life. My grandpa practically lived in the hospital at this point, and here is where the visits began. Eventually, he had to be placed on a ventilator to help him breathe. After little to no improvement, we were faced with the decision of whether or not to remove the ventilator. Although we wanted to keep him with us for as long as possible, we wanted even more for him to be free from his suffering. Loving him meant wanting peace for him, even if it meant letting him go. With heavy hearts, we made the painful decision to have the doctors remove his ventilator on the 10th of February.

The afternoon of the 10th came, and our entire family paid a visit to him in the hospital room. One by one, we all delivered our final words. We got to hold his hand, kiss his forehead, and remind him just how strong he truly was. The doctors removed the ventilator later on that night. We were hoping to provide relief for him, but of course, my grandpa had always been a fighter. Even without the machine, or without medical assistance pushing him forward, he continued to breathe on his own for about two days. All our family could think about was his strength.

On the morning of February 12, 2026, my grandpa opened his eyes. My aunt reassured him that we were going to be okay, and how he was never alone throughout this whole journey, and that if he felt it was time to go, he did not need to be afraid. Minutes later, he closed his eyes and passed on peacefully. Although our hearts are broken, we are forever grateful for the love he gave us and the example of strength he showed us up until his final breath.

As we now prepare to lay him to rest and honor the beautiful life he lived, we are hoping to gather enough support to give him the proper ceremony he deserves. Besides your prayers and love, this GoFundMe account has been set up to help our family with funeral expenses. Any support is deeply appreciated as we honor a man who meant everything to us.