Gabriel Christopher Hernandez

October 19, 1996 - June 16, 2019

Gabriel Christopher Hernandez, age 22, fell asleep in death on June 16, 2019. He was born in Phoenix, AZ on October 19, 1996 to Chris and Josie Hernandez. He grew up in Avondale and attended Canyon Breeze Elementary School. He graduated from Westview High School in 2015. He got his first job at Walmart as a cashier. He went on to work in Asset Protection finding shoplifters. He always came home with an interesting story. He then went on to work at Uhaul in the billing department and a short time at Lexington Law. He was excited about working for Progilisys as a project estimator for Delta Diversified Enterprises. Gabriel was a hard worker and was very responsible. Gabriel, as a young child attended Park West Congregation. He also attended Estrella Mountain, Litchfield Park, and Friendship Park Congregation in Avondale. Many of the friends he made here were like family as he was growing up. They helped him through some very tough times. They wanted the best for him, namely a relationship with his Creator, Jehovah God. Even as he was trying to figure out what he wanted to do with his life, he would still reach out to these friends for advice. As a young child Gabriel had so much energy. He loved to jump and play. He had a very active imagination. He made his own obstacle courses at home. He was always climbing something. Gabriel liked spending time with his cousins and friends. He was an only child but through these cousins and friends he found many "brothers" and "sisters" that he could be himself with. They helped each other through ups and downs. Gabriel loved sharing funny memes and he loved to just talk. Growing up he liked to breakdance and skateboard. He loved camping and he loved to travel. He went on two New York trips to Bethel. He loved the city and the food. He enjoyed visiting Canada. He wanted his backyard to look like the Butchart Gardens. We have so many good memories of family trips to Chicago, Los Angeles, San Diego, San Francisco, and Seattle. Gabriel had a good sense of humor. He loved to laugh. He was a good story teller. (He could exaggerate a bit). He loved to give his cousins a hard time and tease them. He loved his Grandparents and his aunts and uncles. He loved his family. We loved each other. He gave the biggest hugs and kisses. Behind Gabriel's beautiful smile was a heart in pain. Some days he fought hard against depression, some days he struggled. Those closest to him knew of this struggle. Proverbs 14:10 says it best, " The heart knows it's own bitterness, and no outsider can share in its joy". For someone who deals with depression, they may not fully understand their own feelings, let alone, explain them fully to someone else. And others cannot always understand and recognize exactly what someone else is going through. For those who tried to help and understand what Gabriel was going through, we thank you. We thank you for that hug you gave him when it looked like he didn't care. For inviting him for ice cream, for taking him to the gym, for teaching him carpentry, for taking him to Starbucks just to talk, for inviting him over to your house or apartment to just hang out and talk, for feeding him and making him feel part of your family, for inviting him over for karaoke, for making him drink his water, for helping him find a job, for trying to guide him back to his Creator, for making him laugh and smile, for being with him when he just needed to cry, for trying to help when you didn't fully understand him, and for just being patient with him and loving him. Revelation 21:4 tells us that Jehovah "will wipe out every tear from their eyes, and death will be no more, neither will mourning nor outcry nor pain be anymore," the former things will have passed away. No more depression, no more crying because of the pain of the heart. Gabriel will wake up with a heart to match his beautiful smile. He'll be able to learn about Jehovah with a healthy mind and heart. Gabriel is survived by his parents Christopher and Josephine Hernandez. Grandparents, Jesus and Cruzita Mendez, David and Yolanda Hernandez, his Gran Gran Mary Lucero, his great grandmother Ruth Hernandez, his three uncles five aunts and many cousins, some of which were like his brothers and sisters.