On the evening of Sunday, August 15th, our dad James, mother Beatriz, and 14-year old autistic brother Jimmy, were involved in a tragic car accident. They were returning home from visiting family in Oregon and had a little under 40 minutes left to make it home safely. Their truck was suddenly struck by a fast moving car that came from the opposite direction of the freeway. The impact sent their truck and attached camper rolling for several feet before finally crashing into a tree. Our mother and brother were retrieved from the truck and transported to nearby hospitals. Dad passed away instantly. Once our mother is fully healed, we will be holding a memorial service to honor him.

We are devastated and still in complete disbelief by the sudden loss of the kind, patient, loving, generous man we were so lucky to call a father, a husband, a brother, an uncle, a grandpa, and a friend. His ability to listen, communicate, and connect with people was truly a gift he shared with the world throughout his life first as a minister, a professional clown, a professor, an author, and most importantly as a husband and father. He brought a love so genuine and unconditional into our lives that we feel so blessed to have experienced, but also so heartbroken to have lost. He was everything this world needs more of.

His love and patience was the perfect match to our mother’s strength, resilience, and selflessness. It didn’t matter what hardships they were facing, how stressed they were, how little sleep they had gotten due to caring for our autistic brother, they always made you feel at home and they were always ready to lend a hand.

In the blink of an eye, our world is now very different.

Our mother is bed ridden with a fractured wrist, a fractured hand, a small fracture in her tailbone, swelling and cuts throughout her body, and most importantly a broken heart. As if that wasn't enough, she has the added stress of caring for an autistic non-verbal son with behavioral issues that requires 24/7 care. While her injuries heal, my siblings and I will be providing around the clock care to our mom, and younger siblings Jimmy, and Norma. However, even after her injuries heal she will not be able to return to her housekeeping business.

As strong as our mother is, and as much as we know she will always do the impossible for her children, we know she not only needs, but she deserves all the help in the world. Those that know her life story, know life hasn’t been kind to her but she has always been kind to the world.

If you can contribute in any way to help make her journey to healing and moving forward as a single mother a little easier, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts. These funds will help our mother with an endless list of expenses including funeral costs, the memorial service, living expenses for her and our younger siblings, groceries, and gas for physical therapy and grief counseling doctor appointments.