hello my name is Denise and my family & I created this GoFundMe because my dad has recently passed away on October 17,2021 and we are trying to raise money for his service & funeral expenses. I created this but my mom is going to be the one taking care of the funding. This is so hard to do and never thought we would see ourselves in this situation. My dad (Jerry) was admitted to the hospital on September 6, 2021 and that was the last day we saw him. He had covid , his oxygen was low and ever since then things just kept going downhill and was just something painful for all of us to go through. He was afraid and just wanted to come home but unfortunately things did not turn out the way we expected them too. We were so full of hope and prayed to god all the time but nothing. God needed him more than us and whether we like it or not, he made the right decision because he is in a better place now. My dad was so full of joy and laughter and always smiled. Whether he knew you for a long time or just met you 5 minutes ago, he always made you feel welcomed and part of our family. He loved everyone equal, had such a big heart, picked us up when we were low, and accomplished so many things in his life and proud of the man he became. He cared so much for his whole family and all his friends. Till this day I can still hear him laughing, still see him smiling, and still see him working hard. He was such a hard worker and always put in that overtime even if he didn't have to. He used to always say "siempre trabajamos y no vivimos la vida". I am glad though that we did get to go on one last family trip this year. It is crazy how it all lined up.. We were just getting ready to celebrate his birthday coming up on October 31 ): . He still had much more to do in this life but God said it was his time and took him. This is something I never wish upon anyone to go through. Gerardo Valdovinos (aka Jerry) is our dad, our family, our friend and always will be! There is no "he was our friend/he was our dad/he was our brother/he was our cousin/or he was our family member". We don't say "was" because he still "IS" our friend/our dad/our brother/our everything. He will continue to be that and don't want to hear "he was".