The adopted son of our dear friend, Cliff Phillips, died October 18, 2026. Gabriel “Gabe” Moreno was 23 years old and the father of 4-year-old Valentino. Gabriel was shot in a parking lot on New Hampshire Street after leaving a nearby Lawrence establishment. This unfathomable tragedy left the large number of people who loved him — most important of whom is Gabriel's 4-year-old son, Valentino — to grieve Gabriel's death and try to figure out how to move on without him. Mercifully for now, Valentino is still too young to understand that his beloved father is truly gone from this world. However, Valentino has now been forced by cruel chance to continue his life’s journey without a father.

Contributions to this GoFundMe campaign are an extraordinarily significant and real way to honor Gabe and demonstrate our love for him. We hope to salvage some small good to partially offset this tragedy, beginning to fill the voids in our hearts by showing compassion and love for those who were left behind to grieve Gabe’s death and by honoring the Yeahpau family (Gabe's maternal and Kiowa lineage) and the Cervantes family (Valentino's maternal lineage). Cliff asked us to emphasize that this is what Gabe would want us to do.

The contributions from this campaign will be administered and disbursed solely by Cliff. They will first be used to cover the expenses associated with Gabe’s death and memorialization. All additional funds after Gabe’s affairs are settled will be used to create a 529 account to offset some of Valentino’s future educational and developmental expenses.

This 529 account will be used for expenses associated with Valentino’s education from pre-school in 2027 through college or trades training many years from now. There is a long list of qualifying expenses, including educational materials, tutoring, school nutrition, special needs support, and accessories like personal computers. 529 resources can also be rolled into other beneficial accounts, such as a Kansas ABLE account should one become justified or even a Roth IRA, both of which could provide invaluable lifelong support to Valentino.

Please give generously to help provide dignity to Gabe’s final rest and essential support for Valentino’s critical needs. Every contribution, regardless of size, will help fill the massive hole left by Gabe’s passing.

Thank you for giving!