My Cousin Gabe

My husband received a call yesterday from my step mom Carol letting us know that my cousin Gabe (age 33) had passed away. That in and of itself is bad and hard to take but the news didn't stop there. He committed suicide. Danny and I were at the dentist and when we got home, Kamal told me the news. I just couldn't believe it and for 20 minutes, was in complete shock, numb from head to toe.

Finally, I went to the computer to see if I could find out more information. When I went to his facebook wall and saw that his uncle had posted "R.I.P.", I burst out crying, realizing then that it wasn't just a bad dream, it was real and my precious cousin was gone.

I knew that I would need to let my sister know, even though I was sure that Carol had called her too. I didn't want to ruin her work day so I waited to call until about 4:30 my time (which is 3:30 her time). I called and spoke with mom first letting her know what happened and then my sister Loralei. When I talked to Loralei, she freaked out and screamed "What?" several times. We had a good cry together and she called me again later that night so we could talk about everything.

We have had several young family members pass away in the last eight years. My cousin Jeff was 21 when he was killed in a car accident in 2002. My cousin Kris was 28 when he had an allergic reaction to pepper spray and passed away in 2007 and now Gabe at age 33, in 2010. Also, we lost my grandmother (who was like a second mom to me) at age 75 due to a blood clot that reached her lung in 2007, one month prior to Kris' passing. It's almost too much to bear... four family members passing in eight years and that's not counting the numerous friends. I just pray that God will grant us strength and endurance to get through these very hard times and peace for the months to come.

Now about my cousin Gabe. He was a really funny guy and a loving and doting father to his six year old daughter Zoe and his new baby boy Lincoln who was born February 18, 2010. He shocked us when he grew to be so tall. I have many warm memories of our childhood together when we would visit my Granny and Papa in Oklahoma. One memory is going with our dads (Mike and Uncle Jonny) to the pond in order to get frogs for frog legs, bringing them back for Granny to cook and playing on the patio. He had a wonderful sense of humor and many, many friends. I love you Gabe and pray you are now at peace. You will be forever missed.


Photo 1: My cousin Gabe with his girlfriend Marissa.
Photo 2: From right to left: Marissa (his girlfriend), Gabe, Zoe (his daughter), Uncle Jonny (his dad), Aunt Sherry (his mom), Angie (his sister) and Matthew (his brother-in-law).


Photo 3: All the cousins on my Dad's side except for me and Kris. We had to leave early and didn't attend Kris' graveside service.
Photo 4: My uncles Keith and Jonny and their families and my sister, her sons Dante and Diego and my mom.