Since Jose's passing and the publication of my tribute video to Jose, I have had contact from some members of his family, including his mother and his father. Each of them has greatly appreciated the sentiments we leave on Jose's wall, and seeing that we share a small part of their grief seems to have helped all of us.
His mother told me she was moved to tears of joy by our expressions, and his father asked me to post this message to Jose's online friends:
". . . Our families have discovered a José that we little knew. Of course he had told us about the Mafia Wars game and how much he enjoyed it, but he never talked about the part he played in it as an [admin] or his being [well-known for his Mafia Wars notes]. And I am sure you are right, Misty, when you say that he would have been surprised at such a reaction among his Web friends. José never bragged about his merits.
We knew he was an expert in his trade (computer graphics design, pre-press, network management, systems management) and that he was very much appreciated not only for his expertise but also for his human qualities. We can see now on various forums that his friends seem to have realized he had these same qualities.
In his family life José was as generous, helping, compassionate, witty, tender, ingenious and also as passionate for anything he was doing, as he appeared to you. We knew this all the time, but we only realize now how lucky we were to have him in our lives for nearly 45 years (he would have turned 46 December 8, 2011).
Now ... how and why had we to lose him so young ? This is something that is very hard to accept.
So, once again, Misty and all the friends who wrote to you to express their sorrow in this difficult time we are going through, we thank you all, from the bottom of our hearts.
May our José rest in peace.
Mama D also had this to say, which I strongly identified with:
My reaction and sense of loss at Jose's death took even me by surprise. It hurt and I had never met him but I knew him and cared about him even more than I realized. It's proof to me that that just because someone is not in our physical presence (for both the living and the dead) doesn't mean they are not in our hearts and a part of us. I will never forget him.
Dr. Perez is working on a Memorium website for Jose.
If you knew Jose and have a memory to share or words for his family friends, please visit his Memorial guest book HERE. Light a candle and leave a comment so that Jose's friends and especially his family can know what he meant to you.
Thank you for including my comments about Jose here. The sense of loss I felt at his death will remain with me as will my fondness for him as a person. He was a friend that somehow I had a deeper connection with than just thru the game of Mafia Wars. I feel blessed to be included in among those who knew him.
ReplyDeleteI am so sorry for your loss, I will miss his posts. <3 Only the good die young. <3 Which means you're all stuck with me until at least the year 2070!
ReplyDeleteThough we didn't talk often I was always interested in what he would discover next he had a genuine knowledge of this game and a low tolerance for nonsense that I greatly appreciated he stuck to the facts and shared anything he could with the community..I will miss Jose, his notes, grrrumbles
ReplyDeleteRest in peace Pepito Bamm!