Help support our dad’s fight against Cancer

…this post contains an update…

If you’re blessed enough to know our dad, Jim Cendejas, you’ll know he’s a gentle, caring, and supportive friend to the people in his life, be they family, friends, or strangers.

Dad has always been the primary breadwinner in our family and his painting company “Starburst Painting” (which he’s successfully run for the past 40 years) supported us kids as we were growing up. Dad is a driven person, often working six to seven days a week, prioritizing the needs of his clients to make sure the work was done as quickly as possible, as well as balancing his home life by supporting our mom (Barb) when she ran her in-home daycare and maintaining our family home. He honed his painting craft and is well respected as an exceptional house painter. Over the years all of us kids had the opportunity to work with our dad. The experience was a gift, and we all feel blessed to have spent so much quality time with him.

In 2022, Dad was diagnosed with bladder cancer. The initial treatment involved major surgery to remove his bladder and reconstruct a new “neo-bladder”. He did well through his treatment and after a year and a half of chemotherapy and immunotherapy, he was considered in remission. He went back to work, but the treatment had slowed him down dramatically and this past Fall he was remarking on how tired he was. In the days following Christmas, scans showed that the cancer had returned, and the doctors diagnosed it as Stage 4. Of course, Dad is taking it all in stride. He has an amazing attitude and is determined to fight it with everything he’s got.

…update…

Sadly, Dad's fight with Cancer ended much sooner than we expected. The cancer was aggressive and true to form he struggled silently and strongly without us noticing how much pain he was in. He passed away peacefully in the early hours of May 3rd surrounded by his family. We are still coming to terms with this huge loss in our lives and how we will carry on without his strong and steady hand.

We are so thankful for the support of our large family and extended family of friends. Thanks to you, donors, who have contributed to raising funds to support our dad's battle with cancer. We really appreciate your generous contributions.

With love,

Ed, Amanda, Kate, and Sara

**If you decide to donate through the gofundme account, please note that there is an option to tip gofundme. The default amount can be changed to any dollar amount (including $0) using the sliding taskbar.