Jon Rafael Romero
2022-2024
💙

Jon R. Romero. Our sweet, brown eyed, curly haired baby boy. The boy that made us parents. He may have only been with us for a little over 2.5 years, but the impact he made while he was here was larger than life. He was the light of our world, and always will be. We are forever grateful to have had the privilege of being his parents, and we miss him every second of every day.

Jon brought an incredible amount of joy and laughter everywhere he went. Anytime he would smile and laugh, which was constantly, you couldn’t help but crack a smile too. He had a way of bringing others out of their shell and included everyone in the room in whatever he was doing. He had a love for life and he wanted to share it with everyone.

His first real word after Mama and Dada was, of course, car. I can so vividly remember sitting at the window at his Lala and Lolo Joe’s house watching the cars go by, and he pointed out the window and said “Car!” so clearly. He was always so amazed by cars. He loved to play with his Hot Wheels and have us help him build big tracks in our hallways, or play cops and robbers with his Dada and chase each other all through the house, laughing so hard the whole time. His collection of cars was larger than most would expect a 2 year old would have, and he played with every single one and always found cars everywhere around the house. He also had a full collection of cars from the movie Cars, which was his favorite movie and he even got to meet Lightning McQueen in Disneyland; I will never forget the excitement on his face when he saw him. When he was old enough to have a preference on clothes for the day, he always picked his Lightning McQueen shirt and hat. 

Jon also loved helping his Nano and Big Nano drive their boats, he always wanted to go fast. He was their ‘Captain in Training’, and enjoyed swimming and just being outside in general. He loved spending time with his family, never wanted to leave his Auntie and Uncle's house or stop playing with his cousins, who are also his best friends. 

Another big interest Jon had was sea creatures. He loved visiting aquariums and anything to do with ocean life, specifically sharks. If he wasn’t wearing his Lightning McQueen outfit, he was probably in his shark hat and tee. When we visited the Monterey Bay Aquarium we let him pick out some stuff from the gift shop; he chose two shark plushies and a big National Geographic’s shark book, and was the book we read almost every night before bed. It amazed us that he could name specific sharks, his favorites being the hammerhead and the whale shark. All his shark toys were his ‘babies’ as he would lovingly call them, and they went everywhere with him. One of his favorite activities was bringing out his water table and playing with all his sea creatures in the water. He was always soaked by the time he was done playing, but that never fazed him. 

Jon will forever be an inspiration to those that had the privilege of meeting him. He looked at the world differently with so much curiosity and amazement towards everything, big or small. He loved everyone and he made sure you knew it. He gave the best hugs and toothy little kisses, had the sweetest voice that we so deeply miss hearing each day, and a smile that could turn any bad day around. 

As a parent, you never think you’re going to have to live life without your child; It isn’t how life is supposed to be. Unfortunately, it is how our lives are now, and all we hope now is that we are able to share some of the love and joy that Jon brought into this world. 

We will love you forever, our sweet baby boy.