My one and only brother 💙

Vince has been a protector of me since the very beginning—literally. My parents actually let him pick my name when he was only three years old and I always thought that was insane!

My brother was my best friend as a kid. At our first house together in West Jordan, I remember tagging along with him to play with his friends because I didn’t have any of my own in that neighborhood. I don’t think it ever bothered him one bit. We were always together.

Then we moved to our second house in West Jordan and made endless memories there too. Whatever Vince liked, I liked. He tried to teach me how to play Yu-Gi-Oh cards, and I always acted like I knew what I was doing. Truthfully, I mostly loved trading with him for the shiniest cards.

We didn’t go to the same schools our whole lives, but I’ll never forget his third-grade teacher being mean to him and the fire in my little Kindergarten heart that wanted to give her a piece of my mind. Vince, of course, always stayed polite and kind.

Fast forward to elementary and middle school at St. John’s, and all I ever heard was, “Oh, you’re Vince’s little sister.” I used to hate hearing that. Now, I couldn’t be more proud to be Vince’s little sister.

Vince was loved by everyone who knew him. He was always the smartest, most polite kid from the very beginning. I always knew he was the favorite kid, but honestly, he deserved that title. He was one of a kind.

We always called each other “Monkey.” I’m not even sure where it came from, but we would say, “Ay, Monkey, what you do… egh,”—a completely dumb saying that somehow never got old.

I’ll never forget a night out at Poplar for his birthday. Someone threw a drink at me from across the bar, and boy, did that make Vince mad. Needless to say, we both walked in the door that night and, when our Mom asked how our night went, we answered, “We both got 86’d tonight.”

That was Vince. No matter what happened in life, he was there. Vince had my back. I was his little sister, and we protected each other until the end.

Seeing Vince become a Tio, and then shortly after becoming a dad, was such a beautiful thing to watch. He was so hands-on. Chasing the kids around the living room, swinging them on the playset, making them laugh. My girls loved their Tio and always lit up when they got to see Tio, Tia, Lorenzo, and Edilea.

Lorenzo, your dad was the best big brother a girl could ever ask for. He never made me feel like I was annoying him or embarrassing him, even when I was a little kid tagging along. He always made me feel loved, and he always told me he loved me. I know how sweet your soul is, and I know you will be that same kind of person with Edilea. Protect her with everything you have, just like your daddy protected me. Laugh together. Be silly together. Look out for each other. And teach her how to carry and represent the family name with the same love and pride your dad did.

Lorenzo and Edilea, I hope you always remember how much your dad loved you. He would have gone to the ends of the earth for you. You were his biggest joy and his greatest accomplishment in life.

I will never understand why he was taken from you so early. But I hope you always know that although his life was far too short, he made an incredible impact on every person he met.

I hope that someday, when you are older, you can read these stories and see the different sides of your dad—the little boy, the brother, the Tio, the dad, the friend, and the person who made everyone around him feel loved.

I hope you carry pieces of him with you, just like I intend to carry pieces of him with me for the rest of my life.

I will always be here for both of you and your mom. I will always love you, protect you, support you, and make sure you know who your dad was and how deeply he was loved. I promise to keep his memory alive and to tell you all the stories—especially the silly ones—so you can know him not just by the pictures you have, but through the memories of everyone who was lucky enough to love him.

Monkey, I love you with all I have.

Thank you for being the best big brother I could have ever asked for. I am so proud to have been your sister and to have watched you accomplish so many amazing things in your 36 years.

Life will never be the same without you. I hope you know how sorry I am for the things I could have done better, and I hope you know that I will spend the rest of my life making you proud down here.

I’ll take care of Mom and Dad. I’ll always be there for your little family. And I’ll make sure Lorenzo and Edilea always know exactly how much their dad loved them.

I love you, Monk.

Can’t wait to see you again. ❤️