Elijah Noe Guerrero

Elijah Noe Guerrero was born on March 9th, 2007. He was born at 12:41 pm, he weighed 6lbs 14.4 ounces. He was born to Cesar and Vipha Guerrero. March 9th, 2007 was the best day of Cesar’s life.

Elijah quickly became a koala bear, clinging to mom’s neck and since then, has never let go.

He has older siblings, Nic, Nathan and Natalee and younger siblings, Evan and Evie - loving each one in their own way.

Elijah grew to love the outdoors. He had many adventures with his dad. One of his favorite activities was fishing. His mom grew up fishing her whole life and she made sure to pass that tradition on to her family. From then on, he was hooked. Little did he know of the many fish he would hook himself. There were many lake trips to be had. He would catch all the bass and always the biggest ones. As a kid, he would patiently wait for Dad and his big brothers to catch the minnows for bait and play with them. But as he got older and finally got his own pole, the fish and turtles didn’t have a chance. Once he conquered the lakes, we headed to Galveston Beach, in the hopes of catching a big shark. Galveston was a yearly family tradition we enjoyed. Although the sharks were never caught, he was able to reel in Sheepsheads, Whiting, Ladyfish, blue crabs and stingrays. Dad was always willing to try all the catches they had. But when it came to the stingrays, Mom had a weakness for their smiley faces and didn’t want them to get eaten. One time he reeled in a big one and Dad was a little distance away. He was so excited and ran to show Mom. She thought they were so cute and Elijah decided he was going to let it go before Dad came to see because then, he would’ve wanted to keep it to try but he couldn’t risk that and breaking Mom’s heart. It was that stingray’s lucky day!

Along with fishing- Elijah’s next love became basketball. His favorite NBA player was Kawhi Leonard- jersey #2. The all time GOAT.

That led him to his next obsession- SHOES. Mom denies this obsession, but according to Dad, she’s the one that started him on it by purchasing him his first set of Nike Hyper Dunks. His older brothers and sisters contributed to this shoe addiction, because they could never say no to him- nobody could.

When it was time to start high school, Elijah’s next passion became track. He shared that connection with his Dad- who had also ran track. They started to compare sprint times and Dad often challenged him and they were close races with Dad beating him to the finish, until one day that changed. That day started when Dad had just come home from working night shift. It was a chilly morning and Elijah was already warming up outside . Dad thought “challenge accepted”. After he pulled in, the challenge was extended and accepted. They lined up. “Go!” Was shouted and the two were even with Elijah starting to pull ahead. Dad knew he was beat, but gave a final kick, causing Dad a searing and burning pain in his right hamstring. As Elijah crossed the finish line victorious, Dad finished with a bruised ego mixed with pride and limped back home with his son. Dad carries that hamstring injury even til today..

Another connection he had with Dad that made a big impact on his life was in becoming a gym rat. Once he started realizing that he could have the big guns like Dad, it quickly became about the gains. He shared this pursuit with many of his friends and made sure to hold everyone accountable, especially Mom. She was never one to enjoy working out, but he never really wanted to leave her behind so he always made sure to bring with her with him to the gym. He wouldn’t take no for an answer and it became a family ritual that included Elijah, Mom and Dad working 2-3 times a week. If he wasn’t working out with his parents, he was working out with his friends. This interest and the desire to be healthy was the reason why he wanted to become a Physical Therapist, but really, he was aiming for Mr. Olympian.

Though Elijah had so many things he was passionate about the one thing that remained constant was his love for his family. Especially his “Ma”. He was the biggest mama’s boy and wore that title loud and proud and wasn’t ashamed to admit it. Nothing could come between the 2 of them. He wanted to be with Mom wherever she was. Following her around the house, going shopping with her, or even just as simple as going to eat pho with her. His love is strong. So strong we can feel it wherever we go now. His family was so important. He never hesitated for a split second to spend time with them, help them, or laugh with them. He showed up for his family no matter what.

Along with the love for his family was the love he showed for his friends. These past few days have shown us the magnitude of that love. He accepted them for who they were and made sure they knew how important they are. We are so grateful for each and everyone we have met. Although our hearts are broken and will never be whole again, they hold a piece of him that we will cherish throughout our lives.

His example of love and selflessness will live on through us all. Until we meet again Bubba. We love you and we will see your beautiful, smiling face again.