TOLEDO, OH (WTOL) - On this Memorial Day, a scholarship fundraiser was held in honor of a local serviceman whose young life ended in tragedy.
A cookout to celebrate the memory of his life happened at Latins United today.
Sebastian Guerrero, Sr. had a difficult time speaking about his son.
"Wish things could've gone a different way. We're just missing my son. On Memorial Day, just thinking about him all day," he said.
Just over a year ago, a Toledo family tragically lost their hero, US soldier, Sebastian Guerrero III or SobSob, as they called him.
His life was cut short here at home, February 28th, 2017, on his 21st birthday, while changing a tire alongside I-75.
Alicia Garza, his aunt and godmother spoke about Sebastian lovingly.
"He was a great person. Giving back was something that he was always into doing. He loved to help people, especially his family. He was really big on getting with his family and kids, so if you had a baby, or you had a son, anyone, he was always calling because he liked to hang out and do fun things like paintball, swimming, you know, just going to the drive-in movies, just things like that. He was a really, really big family person," she said.
Sebastian was many things to many people, a loving son, father, nephew, and a loss shared by much of our community.
Funds raised from the cookout will go to a scholarship in his honor to provide multiple children in our area school supplies, tutoring, and various necessities they need to succeed.
Educare academy also hopes to create an outdoor classroom 180th Fighter Wing veteran's name.
"We're excited to partner with this family and it's an amazing honor just to be a part of this, and I think that it's a great way to celebrate Memorial Day,"Kelly Latz, Community Outreach Manager for the 12 location Educare Academy network said.
Sebastian's family also said, for them, Memorial Day is the perfect day to share together in his memory and give back to our community in a way their fun-loving hero would have wanted to.
