Andy Zepeda dies, surrounded by his large Aurora family
By Denise Crosby dcrosby@stmedianetwork.com January 27, 2012 10:04AM
Andy Zepeda | Courtesy Zepeda Family
Benefit fund
The Andy Zepeda Benefit Fund has been established c/o Cindy Edwards, Old Second National Bank, 1200 Douglas Road, Oswego IL 60543.
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Updated: January 29, 2012 2:32AM
Andy Zepeda died exactly as he had requested: surrounded by the large Aurora-area family who made it their mission to bring him home.
The 44-year-old former Auroran whose family made an emergency cross-country road trip from California to the Fox Valley last week, passed away at 12:05 a.m. Friday in his parents’ Montgomery home.
“Andy finished his first journey ... and is now on his next journey,” said Pinky Zepeda, Andy’s uncle. He passed away “with all his family around him.”
For 32 hours straight, Andy’s brother Domonick and sisters Theresa and Rose, along with cousin Cindy Gonzales Martinez, drove him home non-stop from Palm Springs, where Andy had worked as a concierge until he became gravely ill.
Andy fell from a ladder while hanging Christmas decorations at the California hotel in December. When he didn’t feel better weeks later, he returned to the doctor and discovered he was in the final stages of liver failure. Told he had two to five days to live, Andy asked his mother Christina (Pat) and father Andy Sr. to bring him back to Aurora to die.
Because Andy was unable to fly, his large family back in the Fox Valley immediately jumped into action in a quest to get him home before he passed away. Three of his six siblings and cousin ran into plenty of hurdles on their mission, including trouble finding a van at the start of this journey; and an unexpected snowstorm in the Southwest, which caused their makeshift ambulance to spin out into traffic at one dangerous moment.
The crew also had plenty of support, as thousands of family, friends and perfect strangers followed Andy’s final journey on Facebook. Functioning with little or no sleep — two shared the driving; two took care of the patient — the exhausted but thankful group pulled into the driveway at their parents’ home around 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, where dozens more had prepared the home.
For the next 36 hours, throngs of loved ones — including aunts, uncles, cousins, nieces and nephews — gathered around his bed, where Andy, known for his giving heart and fun-loving personality, would occasionally open his eyes, smile, whisper.
“Everybody had a chance to say good-bye,” said Pinky Zepeda.
Late Thursday evening, Andy’s breathing became heavy and Hospice workers quieted the room for his final moments. He died around 10:30 p.m., the family said, but the official time recorded by the coroner was 12:05 a.m. Friday.
Funeral arrangements are pending, but a memorial will be at Dieterle Memorial Home.
“He went peacefully,” his uncle added, “knowing how much he was loved.”
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