Gordo/Jose was truly one of a kind. If you were fortunate enough to know him, you understood instantly just how special he was. He was kind, selfless, and full of curiosity about the world. His passions were many from reading to singing to playing instruments. He approached each of them with the same quiet joy that made him so loved.

What many didn’t see was the weight he carried within. In his final weeks, his mental health declined significantly, and he struggled in ways we may never fully understand. In the last sentence of his journal, he wrote, “I’ve been manipulated to push the worst possible narrative about myself.” Those words remind us of the depth of his pain, but they also remind us to hold closely the truth of who he really was.

We choose to remember Gordo for the light he brought into every room, the laughter he shared, and the authenticity he never lost. Thank you, Gordo, for being yourself so completely. Your absence is immeasurable, and you will be missed forever.