Honoring The Life of Jose 'Ardilla' Maya

Jose Varela "Ardilla" Maya was a well-known member of his community. His nickname "Ardilla" came from the incredible amount of patience he had wherein he would feed squirrels in the local park that led to such trust that the squirrels would come and sit on his hand to eat.

Jose was incredibly independent and proud. He hid his illness from his friends and family until he finally succumbed to lung cancer on July 7th, 2024. Jose had been in and out of the hospital for over a year, each stay getting progressively longer and the interim between visits shorter and shorter. His son, friends, and community helped him keep his spirits up and his faith in God gave him peace in his final days.

Jose loved pancakes and I, his son, was blessed with the opportunity to take him breakfast during the last days of his life. It was wonderful to see him light up. Even up to his last day, his smile could light up a room.

Jose and I talked in great detail about his final wishes. My mother, who passed years before, is in an urn on our ancestral altar. This is where he wanted to be. Beside her once again. The idea of being on the Ofrenda and receiving pancakes on Dia De Los Muertos might have been the biggest I've seen him smile in my entire life.

Jose lived in an RV outside of the park and survived off of his Social Security check. This means that he was unable to leave anything behind to assist his family with the cost of his final necessities.

All funds will be used to pay for cremation services, an urn he would be proud of, paying back to the community that helped him so much, and a small ceremony and temporary memorial altar in the park that he loved.

Your donations are greatly appreciated and even the smallest amounts will help us give Jose the final services that he wanted.

Thank you so very much.