Hello everyone, I never thought I would have to make something like this, but on October 24th, 2025, my mother and I were getting ready to work early in the morning when we discovered that my beloved father passed away in his sleep sometime early in the morning…

This is truly a sudden nightmare that became reality. My dad took his health seriously, saw his doctor less than a month before, and was active as usual. None of us were prepared or expecting this to happen, especially so soon.

On the night of October 23rd, they went on their dinner date and were discussing how they wanted to celebrate their 50th anniversary (this year was their 35th), plan a trip to the beach that upcoming weekend, and my sister’s birthday on Halloween, exactly a week later.

Now, we are left with a home that feels empty and lonely. So full of life, my dad was the family clown, life of the party, and enjoyed talking to familiar and new faces alike. Being a stay-at-home dad who was self-employed, he always put me and my siblings first. Whenever we needed a ride, needed help getting to work, or even help getting rid of a bug that invaded our space, he would stop whatever he was doing to help us.

And that selflessness extended to our family and friends. If I had a friend who found out they weren’t getting a ride back home from school, without hesitation, my dad and I would give them a car ride back home.

Not only was he an amazing and loving father, but he was also a musician and former veteran. He used to be in a band with his two younger brothers, playing the drums for small gigs in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Some of my earliest memories with my dad were him teaching me how to play along to our favorite songs on his red Rogers drum set.

Every day, without fail, he would always greet me good morning and be the weather forecaster for our family, reminding us to dress warm or take an umbrella for showers later that day. And my favorite part of my day, ever since I was a child, was getting in my dad’s car, or arriving back home from work, greeting my dad and hearing, “Hiya buddy! How was school/work?” Just hearing his voice, knowing he was just as excited to see me as I was to see him, made every day worth studying, working, and living.

Now, for nearly 3 weeks, I no longer hear that joyful greeting, no more sudden stories where he is so excited, he immediately stands up and starts with, “You got to see this! Have you seen this?!” Unless I have a voice message or a video saved on my phone, I won’t hear his silly laugh where my sister (33), brother (15), and I (24) are all laughing with my dad, teasing him about being silly just to put smiles on our faces.

With this GoFundMe, we’re not expecting to reach our full goal, but hopefully at least help cover some of the costs. The funeral home is charging us a little over $6,000 for services. This is mostly due to us requesting one day for open casket viewing. Because all of this has been so fresh and sudden in less than a month, we want to be able to see my dad one last time, and not have our last memory be of him leaving our home…

Even if we get a single donation, that is already more than we can expect. My family is not used to asking others for help, but on behalf of my mother, sister, brother, and my late father, I humbly ask if anyone has the capacity to help, we deeply appreciate your generosity.

I appreciate anyone who comes across this post and takes the time to read and share with others who may be able to help towards the costs.

Regardless of whether or not you are able to donate, I please ask that you remind your loved ones how much they mean to you and how important they are. Life is so fragile, and I never thought I was going to be reminded of that by losing my best friend, the best dad I could ever have.