As most of you know, the Willow Creek community lost one of our finest members last month. Lifetime resident Ruben Marquez tragically lost his life on October 22, at the young age of 44. Ruben was the son of Johny Marquez and Sylvia Deleon and brother to Anjelina Marquez.

If you knew Ruben, you felt this loss on a deep level—as he always went above and beyond to make others feel special and loved. Ruben was the type of person to show genuine care for others; if you knew him for 10 minutes or 10 years, he showed you a lifetime of love. Whether it was giving you a hard time, poking fun at you, or just simply asking how you and your family were doing, Ruben always took a moment to show others love and kindness.

No one can ever prepare for a tragedy like this, as Ruben’s parents are now left with the financial weight of handling his affairs. As the family continues to navigate this incredibly painful time, I am asking Ruben’s friends and community members to help alleviate the financial burden and donate to the cause.

All money donated will go directly to Ruben’s parents and will be used for a celebration of life planned to take place in the spring at The Forks. It will also be used for the cleanup of his property and to cover any other debts he accrued.

The family would like to extend their love and gratitude to all of those who have been there to support them during this tragedy.

“Thank you for being a friend to our son, we appreciate you all!” ~ Johny & Sylvia