Help me fund my bestfriend's funeral, please
Donation protected
Hello everyone,
My name is Jonathan Ernesto Lopez, son of Ernesto Lopez Velasquez, and I'd like to take the time to tell you a little about the man I was lucky enough to call my father. My father was a great man. He was born in April of 1963 in a small area called San Antonio Suchitepéquez in the country of Guatemala. My dad had an education equivalent to about what an 8th grader gets here in the United States. He left school to start working at an early age because he just couldn't afford the luxury of it anymore. His family grew up pretty poor and he always wanted to be a provider for the family even when young. He worked cutting and loading sugar cane out on the fields of Guatemala. With the little money he earned from jobs he took he would always share some of his paycheck with his mother. The rest was used to just enjoy small things in life. Like for example a nice cold bottle of soda, preferably a Coke-a-Cola brand. My father wasn't that much of a materialistic person back then. As time had passed he was getting older but so were his loved ones. When my great grandmother died my father was given a small amount of money as an inheritance. My father used that money to better his life and better the lives of the ones around him. Viewing it as an opportunity to make than he ever did in Guatemala, he took a risk and used everything dollar he had to travel to the United States. His brothers and sisters were mostly all older than him, except for one, and they already had their own responsibilities to handle back home. I remember my dad telling me that he spent Christmas alone and on the streets that year. That's when he met a wonderful man named Ronald Brian Fredette.
Ronald gave my dad a job and the opportunity to build a life here in the US by giving him a job as a house painter. He was my dad's best friend and his boss for a total of 20+ years. He started earning a lot more money than he used to and still always made sure to send some back home. It still wasn't much but it paved the way for his family back home to eat better, dress better, and live more comfortably than what they were normally used to. As time passed he eventually met my mom through some mutual friends at a local Shakey's pizza. They really hit it off, dated for a couple of years, got a place together, had me out of wedlock, got married, bought a car together, got a bigger place together, had my sister, bought a house, and raised us through essential life lessons he learned the hard way growing up. One main lesson being to always count our blessings. That man was my bestfriend, my net, the person who would always encourage me to do my best in whatever I aspired to do with my life. I took too many risks financially and my father always came up with the money for my mistakes. I wasn't always the greatest son for him and now he won't even be able to see me get married, meet his first grandson, or even walk into my first owned home.
He had a brother who he'd lost contact with but he would frequently tell me that one of his biggest wishes would be to see him again, to confirm he's alive and well. He always wanted what was best for his family, mainly for my sister and I after we were born. I was always viewed as an intelligent kid but I wasted it. I made poor friend choices, didn't manage my time well, became overall lazy in most aspects in life. My sister worked hard for all that she's been given, she got that from my father. She got accepted into CAMS (California Academy of Math and Science) a school where you needed at least a 4.0 just to be considered in enrolling there. On top of that she worked hard those four years and got a full ride to the University of San Diego. She was, and still is, my father's pride and joy even in death. Sometimes I feel like I just didn't do enough while my father was here but he always told me he loved me. I told him I loved him but I didn't show it enough.
Late September/Early October of 2018 he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Stomach cancer. My family would visit my sister frequently at college because San Diego is about a two hour drive from where we currently reside. They would always take the opportunity to stay the weekend down there to also visit relatives that lived near to where she was studying. My parents and them had a falling out in the past but they had just reconciled about year before my sister was admitted to her school. Every time they left for the weekend they would always come back home late on Sunday. The reason is because they would accompany our relatives to church earlier those nights and travel back home after the service, but this particular day was different. They were home around noon this time and they told me it was because my father felt that his stomach felt very full. I got a phone call later that day from my mom informing me that they were headed to the hospital. I refused to believe it was more than that. In hindsight there were clear signs that my father was ill and I was just being ignorant, or maybe I just didn't want to think the worst. My dad has always tried to hide me from the problems that arose in his life or the nastiness that is life sometimes. Some people just live their lives with an awful state of mind and try to bring others into that world but he never did. He instead focused on the positives and even financially supported other relatives to come into this great nation to help them build better lives for themselves and their loved ones. He gave them a place to stay when they first arrived, gave them a paying job, passed down skills he learned while in America, and gave them opportunities to create something of themselves here.
He was kind a man but some tend to take advantage of people like that sometimes, even relatives. When my dad's boss, Ronald, passed away he was taken out of his bestfriend's will by a nephew who took advantage of the situation he was in. He lied and told Ronald that my dad didn't need the money he would be inheriting from his will (about $40k). My dad gave that selfish cousin of mine a great job and asked him to care to his loved one in return only to be back-stabbed as a thanks. After he found about out what my cousin had done my father did something I never expected him to ever do, he came home drunk. My mother didn't like drinking still doesn't. She was raised a Christian all her life so she didn't believe in it. She viewed it as a toxic substance on this Earth that contaminates one's life. So for my dad to show up to the house like this was serious. Eventually he opened up and told us exactly what had transpired, my heart sank. My father did not make much, I cannot stress this enough, he just saved for what he had in life. After Ronald passed away my father found it more difficult to look for work. The references that were given to him from Ronald were now gone but my father always tried his best to adapt to the situations life threw at him. He searched hard for new clients to find and still managed to show up to our home with money for the bills, mortgage, food, etc.
My father dealt with a lot of pain the month he found out about his illness. A couple weeks prior he received a call that his mother (my grandmother) was no longer eating. My grandmother was fighting a severe case of alzheimer's disease for years so for him to hear news like this, he knew the end result was inevitable. He broke down in front of me and cried that his mother was dying and that he needed to go to Guatemala to see her. It just so happens that life will kick your ass sometimes and will continue to keep piling it on. He was in the hospital for a week until he was told that he had stage 4 cancer. The doctor's had told him if he had gone to see my grandmother in Guatemala before starting his treatment he would've died there alongside her. They day he was released he told me in the car on the way home, I still had not known until this point. I lived with this secret for about two months not telling a single soul, not even my sister who had just started her second year at UCSD.
Eventually my parents told my sister around Thanksgiving and I could tell she was in disbelief. First our grandmother and now our father, it was a hard pill to swallow. His first chemotherapy session was also coincidentally the day of his mother's burial. A family member had flown to Guatemala to be present at the funeral and managed to record it live for my dad to see from back home on our couch. I know he wanted to be there, that much was crystal clear. He fought the good battle for a year until eventually on Septemeber 16th at 5:40am his heart stopped. It was over, my father no longer had to suffer. God, he was such a great man and touched so many hearts in his lifetime. He always wanted to meet new people and hear their life stories. The man that had a heart of gold is how I'm going to forever think of him now that he is gone. I'll never forget him and may he rest in peace, paradise, heaven, all of the above and more.
Now our family is faced with a new challenge. We managed to make arrangements for my father's death but the amount that they're asking for is substantial. Both businesses, the cemetery and the mortuary, want the money up front and we have about a week to get it all together. As you can see at the top is our goal in which we want to hit. We don't need to hit it exactly but every one of your donations count! In football terms this is pretty much my hail mary play to help release some stress and weight off my mother shoulders. Right now it's a heavy load to carry for us because of all the other financial matters that have also yet to be dealt with. With the help of you all out there maybe we can make this happen or maybe we can take a huge chunk off of the load. I really tried my best to word this correctly. I don't have much time to proofread at the moment so hopefully you don't hold it against me. It really is tough when you have to write something like this about someone you genuinely love. I know I'm not the only one out there so for all you who have gone through something this tough I just want you to know you are stronger than me and I applaud you. I hope you're doing better. I'd like to take the time here to tell any future donators how much I appreciate you for giving this a glance. If there are any ways I could show gratitude for how much this means to me I will. Idk how this works, it's my first time asking anyone for anything this big. Please find it in your hearts to help us and if you can't help financially that's okay! Sharing this with anyone would also be extremely helpful, thank you.
Sincerely,
A son trying to do what's best for his father.
My name is Jonathan Ernesto Lopez, son of Ernesto Lopez Velasquez, and I'd like to take the time to tell you a little about the man I was lucky enough to call my father. My father was a great man. He was born in April of 1963 in a small area called San Antonio Suchitepéquez in the country of Guatemala. My dad had an education equivalent to about what an 8th grader gets here in the United States. He left school to start working at an early age because he just couldn't afford the luxury of it anymore. His family grew up pretty poor and he always wanted to be a provider for the family even when young. He worked cutting and loading sugar cane out on the fields of Guatemala. With the little money he earned from jobs he took he would always share some of his paycheck with his mother. The rest was used to just enjoy small things in life. Like for example a nice cold bottle of soda, preferably a Coke-a-Cola brand. My father wasn't that much of a materialistic person back then. As time had passed he was getting older but so were his loved ones. When my great grandmother died my father was given a small amount of money as an inheritance. My father used that money to better his life and better the lives of the ones around him. Viewing it as an opportunity to make than he ever did in Guatemala, he took a risk and used everything dollar he had to travel to the United States. His brothers and sisters were mostly all older than him, except for one, and they already had their own responsibilities to handle back home. I remember my dad telling me that he spent Christmas alone and on the streets that year. That's when he met a wonderful man named Ronald Brian Fredette.
Ronald gave my dad a job and the opportunity to build a life here in the US by giving him a job as a house painter. He was my dad's best friend and his boss for a total of 20+ years. He started earning a lot more money than he used to and still always made sure to send some back home. It still wasn't much but it paved the way for his family back home to eat better, dress better, and live more comfortably than what they were normally used to. As time passed he eventually met my mom through some mutual friends at a local Shakey's pizza. They really hit it off, dated for a couple of years, got a place together, had me out of wedlock, got married, bought a car together, got a bigger place together, had my sister, bought a house, and raised us through essential life lessons he learned the hard way growing up. One main lesson being to always count our blessings. That man was my bestfriend, my net, the person who would always encourage me to do my best in whatever I aspired to do with my life. I took too many risks financially and my father always came up with the money for my mistakes. I wasn't always the greatest son for him and now he won't even be able to see me get married, meet his first grandson, or even walk into my first owned home.
He had a brother who he'd lost contact with but he would frequently tell me that one of his biggest wishes would be to see him again, to confirm he's alive and well. He always wanted what was best for his family, mainly for my sister and I after we were born. I was always viewed as an intelligent kid but I wasted it. I made poor friend choices, didn't manage my time well, became overall lazy in most aspects in life. My sister worked hard for all that she's been given, she got that from my father. She got accepted into CAMS (California Academy of Math and Science) a school where you needed at least a 4.0 just to be considered in enrolling there. On top of that she worked hard those four years and got a full ride to the University of San Diego. She was, and still is, my father's pride and joy even in death. Sometimes I feel like I just didn't do enough while my father was here but he always told me he loved me. I told him I loved him but I didn't show it enough.
Late September/Early October of 2018 he was diagnosed with Stage 4 Stomach cancer. My family would visit my sister frequently at college because San Diego is about a two hour drive from where we currently reside. They would always take the opportunity to stay the weekend down there to also visit relatives that lived near to where she was studying. My parents and them had a falling out in the past but they had just reconciled about year before my sister was admitted to her school. Every time they left for the weekend they would always come back home late on Sunday. The reason is because they would accompany our relatives to church earlier those nights and travel back home after the service, but this particular day was different. They were home around noon this time and they told me it was because my father felt that his stomach felt very full. I got a phone call later that day from my mom informing me that they were headed to the hospital. I refused to believe it was more than that. In hindsight there were clear signs that my father was ill and I was just being ignorant, or maybe I just didn't want to think the worst. My dad has always tried to hide me from the problems that arose in his life or the nastiness that is life sometimes. Some people just live their lives with an awful state of mind and try to bring others into that world but he never did. He instead focused on the positives and even financially supported other relatives to come into this great nation to help them build better lives for themselves and their loved ones. He gave them a place to stay when they first arrived, gave them a paying job, passed down skills he learned while in America, and gave them opportunities to create something of themselves here.
He was kind a man but some tend to take advantage of people like that sometimes, even relatives. When my dad's boss, Ronald, passed away he was taken out of his bestfriend's will by a nephew who took advantage of the situation he was in. He lied and told Ronald that my dad didn't need the money he would be inheriting from his will (about $40k). My dad gave that selfish cousin of mine a great job and asked him to care to his loved one in return only to be back-stabbed as a thanks. After he found about out what my cousin had done my father did something I never expected him to ever do, he came home drunk. My mother didn't like drinking still doesn't. She was raised a Christian all her life so she didn't believe in it. She viewed it as a toxic substance on this Earth that contaminates one's life. So for my dad to show up to the house like this was serious. Eventually he opened up and told us exactly what had transpired, my heart sank. My father did not make much, I cannot stress this enough, he just saved for what he had in life. After Ronald passed away my father found it more difficult to look for work. The references that were given to him from Ronald were now gone but my father always tried his best to adapt to the situations life threw at him. He searched hard for new clients to find and still managed to show up to our home with money for the bills, mortgage, food, etc.
My father dealt with a lot of pain the month he found out about his illness. A couple weeks prior he received a call that his mother (my grandmother) was no longer eating. My grandmother was fighting a severe case of alzheimer's disease for years so for him to hear news like this, he knew the end result was inevitable. He broke down in front of me and cried that his mother was dying and that he needed to go to Guatemala to see her. It just so happens that life will kick your ass sometimes and will continue to keep piling it on. He was in the hospital for a week until he was told that he had stage 4 cancer. The doctor's had told him if he had gone to see my grandmother in Guatemala before starting his treatment he would've died there alongside her. They day he was released he told me in the car on the way home, I still had not known until this point. I lived with this secret for about two months not telling a single soul, not even my sister who had just started her second year at UCSD.
Eventually my parents told my sister around Thanksgiving and I could tell she was in disbelief. First our grandmother and now our father, it was a hard pill to swallow. His first chemotherapy session was also coincidentally the day of his mother's burial. A family member had flown to Guatemala to be present at the funeral and managed to record it live for my dad to see from back home on our couch. I know he wanted to be there, that much was crystal clear. He fought the good battle for a year until eventually on Septemeber 16th at 5:40am his heart stopped. It was over, my father no longer had to suffer. God, he was such a great man and touched so many hearts in his lifetime. He always wanted to meet new people and hear their life stories. The man that had a heart of gold is how I'm going to forever think of him now that he is gone. I'll never forget him and may he rest in peace, paradise, heaven, all of the above and more.
Now our family is faced with a new challenge. We managed to make arrangements for my father's death but the amount that they're asking for is substantial. Both businesses, the cemetery and the mortuary, want the money up front and we have about a week to get it all together. As you can see at the top is our goal in which we want to hit. We don't need to hit it exactly but every one of your donations count! In football terms this is pretty much my hail mary play to help release some stress and weight off my mother shoulders. Right now it's a heavy load to carry for us because of all the other financial matters that have also yet to be dealt with. With the help of you all out there maybe we can make this happen or maybe we can take a huge chunk off of the load. I really tried my best to word this correctly. I don't have much time to proofread at the moment so hopefully you don't hold it against me. It really is tough when you have to write something like this about someone you genuinely love. I know I'm not the only one out there so for all you who have gone through something this tough I just want you to know you are stronger than me and I applaud you. I hope you're doing better. I'd like to take the time here to tell any future donators how much I appreciate you for giving this a glance. If there are any ways I could show gratitude for how much this means to me I will. Idk how this works, it's my first time asking anyone for anything this big. Please find it in your hearts to help us and if you can't help financially that's okay! Sharing this with anyone would also be extremely helpful, thank you.
Sincerely,
A son trying to do what's best for his father.
Organizer
Jonathan Lopez
Organizer
Lawndale, CA
