Alexander Antonio Sebastiano AKA Rouroni November 20, 1991 – May 25, 2012 Beloved Son, RLSH Alex was always a special person. From the time he was a toddler he had confidence that God could take care of anything. He didn’t necessarily think he needed to sit on his hands waiting for it because he believed he should actively do things to help make a difference. But when it came down to it he knew God was in control. I remember a time when I was at my wits end trying to make ends meet. Between rent, food, and daycare I couldn’t afford all the bills. I sat in the car crying and Alex looked up at me with his big brown eyes and out of the mouth of my 4 year old came this “Mommy, why are you crying? You’re not supposed to worry about anything!” …out of the mouth of babes. There was several times Alex’s need to stand up for what he believed was right put him in difficulty. I remember a time when a group of six neighborhood bullies were picking on an unpopular neighbor kid. Alex rushed home to get a Yucca branch complete with spikes and started swinging it at them and telling them to leave the kid alone. They were older and bigger but Alex’s fierce attitude and the spike branch ran them off. He was absolutely fearless! As Alex got older his unwillingness to conform to what was popular started to give him problems. When you don’t follow the crowd people make fun of you. Not that it changed his belief or his attitude. It was either right or wrong there was no gray. He argued with me after youth group one Wednesday night ‘cause he didn’t want to go back. When I ask him why he told me, you don’t understand mom. Those kids are hypocrites, they act all holy at Church and pretend to be my friends but when they go to school the make fun of me. You want me to be accountable, but who are they accountable too? It was one of the hardest conversations of my life explaining that people weren’t perfect and that he needed to forgiven them because they were only human. Over the last few years I started to see glimpses of the special man he was becoming. He had become more active in the Church working as a youth leader under Pastor Pat and his wife April. He reveled in teasing the new kids and prayed over and lectured the ones who were going down the wrong path. He even had individual bible studies with the ones who just couldn’t seem to make it to group. Alex was funny about certain things. After reading Mathew 6 he decided that we was never going to tell anyone when he did a good thing, he was going to wait and reap all his rewards in heaven not on earth. Frequently when it came time for offering at Church he would put all the money in his wallet in the basket then ask me for money to go to lunch with Pastor Pat and the other youth leaders. When I told him he needed to put it in an envelope so he could write it off in taxes he told me that if he did that God wasn’t going to give him credit! About two years ago he started to get involved with a group called the Xtreeme Justice League. They are a group of costumed activists who make their presence known as a deterrent to criminal activities. By costuming their face, they make people aware of their activities but do not get the personal glory. This was right up Alex’s alley! He participated in the HOPE 2011 handing out sleeping bags and toiletries to the homeless during comic-con and patrolled various areas of San Diego to break up fights and to help keep people safe. As I say goodbye to my son, my heart, and my confidant I have to say. I can’t wait to see your mansion dude…it has got to be awesome. All my love always, Mom