RED (Ernest R. Delgado)

It is with a heavy heart this town mourns the passing of "RED"

For those who have not heard, Red passed away after suffering a massive cardiac arrest out in Dallas the other day.

RED was an amazing person and member of this community. To many of us he was like a member of our family. He was always just around, doing whatever he wanted and enjoying life. From playing football in the alley in Independence to dancing down in the park during the summer music series, washing sidewalks and windows for businesses and picking up to keep our town beautiful. He was always there if we needed someone to talk to, and he was always here if you needed any help. He was honestly a staple of the Independence Downtown. Many of the local business looked at him as our neighborhood watchdog as he always kept everyone in line and knew exactly what was going on down here.

Something many didn't know is RED had a family in Salem. He leaves behind three kids, (Zack, Mia and Taylor) a granddaughter (Lilianna) and an ex-wife Heidi. They all loved him dearly and are mourning this heart breaking loss.

They are now left with the struggle of what to do..... and how to pay for it....

Reds family is working on a Memorial Service for him and I feel its our duty as a community to help them as Red always helped us.

My family as well as the whole JimmyZ staff are heartbroken over this.......

To us, RED was NOT just the homeless man in the alley........

He was a friend.......

We sat, we talked, we laughed together.

I will personally always remember that so familiar voice coming from down the street.... "Jimmy Zeeeeee.... whats up brother"

This town will never be the same without him.

Please help us help his family during this difficult time. The last thing they need is to struggle with the financial burden of laying him to rest. Lets all step up and show his other family just how much he meant to all of us. Lets let his kids know how great of a person their dad really was.

We will add a date and location of his service as soon as it is set.