Support Chris Bleiler's Memorial Fund

Sherry Jako is organizing this fundraiser on behalf of Jennifer Jako.

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Hi, I'm Jen's sister Sherry, and I'm fundraising to cover the costs of the sudden financial burden that is now placed solely on her.

Tragically, Jen’s husband Chris Bleiler died suddenly in early December. For the past 3 years Jen's work for Multnomah County Health Department has been the family’s primary source of income. Recently, Chris found his creative home working at LAIKA Studios' set fabrication department.

The sudden loss of Chris' income has put a financial strain on Jen to continue to cover the mortgage and all other expenses of daily living, let alone cover the unexpected costs of Chris’ funeral and Biancastella’s coming years of college tuition.

Many of you may know Jen Jako through her HIV/AIDS advocacy work. She’s spent more than 30 years educating about prevention, stigma and policies around HIV/AIDS. At the same time, she and Chris built a prolific design firm, Fix Studio , and a community design exhibit, ShowPDX . Together, they raised their child, Biancastella, now in their final year of high school. With Jen having a chronic illness that is life threatening (32 years surviving HIV/AIDS), it is important to reduce her stress and ensure she is here to support Biancastella for as long as possible.

Our immediate goal of $15,000 will provide the funds needed to cover the funeral, memorial, and autopsy costs. Since Chris’ sibling also died suddenly at a relatively early age, Jen must pay for a private autopsy to determine if there are any genetic factors that their child Biancastella needs to know in order to be preventative about their health.

We also seek to raise enough to establish a financial cushion to help with living expenses through the rest of Biancastella’s senior year and contribute to their college tuition.

Please help Jen and Biancastella through this difficult time. Give what you can, and share this story with everyone you know.

Total immediate costs: $15,000

- Cemetery fees, Cremation, Autopsy & Memorial

Upcoming expenses: $20,000

- College Fund

These calculations do not include unanticipated expenses that Chris would have contributed to. My goal is to take the financial pressure and worries away for Biancastella and Jen during their healing.