A beautiful day it was for Jessica

You could not have asked for better day. On January 3, 2011, it was a bright sunny day. Friends and family gathered at Owen-Ruzich Funeral Home in Whiting, IN, for her last viewing. The chapel overflowed with loved ones.




Jessica’s Pall Bearers were:
* John Hajduch, a dear 1st cousin
* Joe Mark, a dear best friend and member of The Brotherhood
* Gabriel Rodriguez, a dear best friend and member of The Brotherhood
* Eric Sandoval, a dear best friend and member of The Brotherhood
* Freddy Vega, a dear best friend and member of The Brotherhood
* Paul Vega, a dear brother




Jessica’s funeral mass was beautiful inside a spectacular Catholic Church, St. John the Baptist Church.

The lector of the First Reading was Joy Villa-Chavez, a dear best friend and member of the Ferocious Five.

The lector of the Second Reading was Vivienne Teodoro, a dear best friend and member of the Ferocious Five.

After the funeral mass, the procession which was delightfully escorted by up to 10 police squad cars from all neighboring Indiana towns. (The individual who organized this is owed a huge thank you from all of us, and we know who you – THANK YOU.)



We were blessed to have Fr. Kalecky preside over the mass and the grave site memorial.













A reception was hosted at Dynasty Banquets in Whiting, IN. Pictures from the reception will be posted separately.

A beautiful day to celebrate the life of a beautiful person.

A Father’s Tribute to His Daughter

Below is a tribute my father read at the service on Sunday, January 2, 2011. I wanted to share with all of you.

A Tribute

In today’s Gospel, we celebrate the Epiphany of the Lord Jesus. The Magi bringing their gifts were following the star without really knowing where they were going.

That star does not always represent the birth of a newborn child. It can also symbolize a personal tragedy such as an illness or even death. That star today is my loving daughter, Jessica, who succumbed to a very rare cancer for which there is no known treatment.

She passed away silently to the Elysian fields of yore to join her mother, Marie, and her brother, John.

She is like a flower dropped before reaching her full blossom to give birth to the sleeping fruit waiting to be born.

On the day before she died, I sat beside her, she looked at me with glazed eyes, clasped my hand with gentle fingers and with trembling lips whispered how she loved me, her brothers and sisters, and her nieces and nephew – and that she is resigned and glad to join her mother and brother.

Although we are pierced and wounded by this tragic event, we have no fear for we know that God is holding us in his arms – for we look down and see only one set of footprints in the sand.

Jessie is at rest