Hello,

My name is Desiree and I had the absolute honor of being Rei’s older sister.

My younger sibling, Rei, struggled with their personal identity for about four years and sadly lost their battle to depression on May 26, 2026.. on my 30th birthday. When I had received the horrific news, I was traveling with my boyfriend in Korea at the time while my mom was in the Philippines visiting family. We all immediately booked flights to be home and no matter how many times people tell me it’s not my fault, I will always carry a sense of regret for ever leaving. Our family did everything we could to support Rei and we truly believed things were improving, but we were heartbroken to learn otherwise. My brother and dad had the traumatic experience of finding Rei and needing to break the news to my mom and I. Rei would have been 16 years old on May 28th. In one of the photos included Rei and I celebrated our birthdays together early but unfortunately Rei never did make it to 16.

Rei was an incredibly talented artist and self-taught in piano. In the photos is a watercolor self portrait Rei drew that recently won first place at the Fort Hays High School Art competition. Whenever it came to being creative, Rei thrived and was always creating something new whether it was 3D printing props, sewing, crocheting, drawing, or painting. Rei loved playing video games with friends and siblings. Every Tuesday we deemed it “Rei Day” and would always hangout doing whatever; usually this included going to Buffalo Wild Wings and getting boba. One of mine and Rei’s favorite things to do together included opening up Pokemon cards. I would always be on the hunt for them and we even had plans to travel to KC in two weeks to collect a con to get some cards graded.

I’m starting this go fund me to help offset the funeral costs for my parents as well as my brother who has been a huge financial help all throughout Rei’s life. My dad has been out of work due to back surgery and was planning to retire soon, and my brother was recently laid off. Any support, no matter the amount, would mean a great deal to us as we navigate this traumatic time and remember Rei for the wonderful person they were.

A visitation will be held Friday from 5-7pm with services Saturday 10am at

the Smith’s Mortuary in Derby, KS.