Luis Angel Galarza Jr.

When I think of Luis I think of his wonderful ability to live life to its fullest. His sense of adventure and child-like enjoyment of the world was infectious. I remember clearly his smile and laugh as he jumped in fearlessly to join a room full of kids on a video game. I remember his generosity and openness and willingness to host an impromptu party or cook a burger to perfection on his backyard grill for you and the pride he took in your enjoyment of his gourmet creation. There seemed to always be a pizza box on standby for whatever guest he needed to welcome that day - and there were many! I remember a father who loved his children with such depth that just talking about them would bring a tear of pride to his eye. Lu was kind and always took the time to ask me about my health or a loved one and took a genuine interest in helping in any way he could. My son was lucky enough to date his beautiful daughter Naty for a time and Lu embraced him with affection and included him in trips to Orlando that were full of youthful fun and games and I know my son will treasure those memories together with Lu forever. My daughter was close friends with his niece Vicki, and I had the opportunity through that relationship to see a brother and uncle who loved his family deeply and to see again that smile that said how proud he was to be a part of their lives. Naty, Danny, Vicki and Michaey were his everything and anyone who knew Luis knew that to be true. It has been my observation that those that die young, and Luis was definitely still young, seem to know on some level that they aren't going to be blowing out the candles on their 90th birthday cake and they live life with a kind of fervor and purpose that takes every minute they've been given to live it well. When I think of Luis, I think of his extraordinary ability to live life to its fullest. And now, his joy and purpose here on earth is finished and he's moved on to enjoy life in heaven and to prepare the barbecue grill and video games too as he waits for us to see him again and to see that smile and hear that laugh once more. We will miss Lu, and I for one am thankful that he crossed my path, no matter how briefly, and made his mark on my memories and those of my family.