By Henry Barrueta, brother-in-law

We as a family got together for holidays, marathons, and some long weekends. We never thought about one of our family members not being there. When Jared died, it left a huge hole in our family and our hearts that nobody can fill. It is hard to believe that he is gone and our lives must go on without him.

One of the first memories I have of Jared is when he came to our house while my in-laws (Kelley’s parents) were visiting us in Walla Walla. Jared asked if he could come over to “talk”. This was unlike Jared so we were surprised but gladly said “yes”. He came over and was listening to the conversations. He was even quieter than usual (which is hard to believe) when suddenly he said to my in-laws “I’d like to ask you a question”. As soon as I heard that, I called my wife, Charity, in from the kitchen because I knew something was about to happen. He then asked if he could ask Kelley for her hand in marriage. My in-laws of course said yes. And that is my first memory of how he became an official part of the family.