My name is Javier Pulido and I have been blessed to call Lev Dusseljee a dear friend of mine for the last five years.

For those of you who know Lev, you may be aware that he lost his mother (Maxine Dusseljee) in December 2016, his father (Gary Dusseljee) in August 2022, and most recently, one of his brother’s (Derk-Aaron Dusseljee) who passed away last month--December 2024—at the young age of 40.

Lev honored his father with a memorial service in April 2024 in Portland, Oregon, and was in the process of finally formally honoring his mother with her own service this year, when he learned a week before Christmas that his brother had unexpectedly passed away. Unfortunately, Lev’s remaining three brothers were not in a position to help logistically or financially with their father’s memorial service last year, and this remains the case for what Lev is now planning as a joint memorial service for both his mother and brother. But there are additional challenges for this memorial service as it will be held in Nevada City, California, in between Sacramento and Lake Tahoe—an approximately 10 hour drive from Portland, where Lev lives.

At the same time, we do not want to lose sight of for whom Lev is doing this: Maxine and Derk-Aaron. Both suffered much when they died. Maxine battled seven-years against spinal cancer to which she eventually succumbed. And Derk-Aaron was estranged from his family since he left home at 18, experiencing bouts of drug addiction and homelessness since that time.

I volunteered to support Lev with getting this Go Fund Me endeavor started to alleviate the financial hardship this situation has presented and to lighten his burden. Donations will pay towards the following costs: cremation and mortuary fees, travel (plane tickets, car rentals, gas), memorial venue.

Should we exceed our goal or costs are lower that projected, the donations would be allocated to pay for legal expenses associated with Maxine’s and Derk-Aaron’s estates. We’re not including any legal expenses in this request, as those are difficult to define or project at this time.

Thank you for taking the time to consider helping.

Javier