Donate to Support Fernando’s Funeral and Children

On October 31, 2024, after 38 short beautiful years of life, my brother, Fernando Arturo Rivas, lost his life to an extremely aggressive battle with cancer, leaving behind his two children, Gabby and Gio. Just 7 weeks prior, he discovered a lump while shaving. One week later, he learned that lump was stage 4 cancer that had completely engulfed his primary artery. He had no hope for survival and an attempt at chemo to give him a few extra months was unsuccessful. He lost the ability to speak, to swallow, to eat, to live. And 7 weeks later, he died in hospice. It seems like in the blink of an eye, he was here, laughing with us, taking care of his children, being an amazing father, brother, son, cousin, nephew, and great friend to so many; then he was gone.

As you can imagine, our family had no time to prepare, no time to even process that Fernando was terminally ill, much less to make arrangements to lay him to rest, and beyond that, to care for his children. Fernando was the primary provider for Gabby and Gio. There is nothing he wouldn’t do for his children. My family and I will be here for them. We will do everything in our power to help fill the immense void in their lives left by the passing of their father. But as hard as it is to ask, we need help.

The funds donated here will be exclusively used to pay for his cremation and funeral services, to provide for his children, and to invest in their future - to give them what their father would have if he wasn’t taken from them so suddenly. In lieu of flowers, if you are able, we greatly appreciate any donation you are able to offer. This is what our family most needs to get through this incredibly difficult time as best we can. We thank you so much and will be updating this page with information on services as soon as they are available.

“If the world was ending, I’d wanna be next to you… I’d wanna hold you for a while and die with a smile.”

We love you forever Fernando.