Two decisions face a devastated family weeks after their patriarch made the ultimate sacrifice.
The family of 55-year-old Juan Andrade is weighing where to bury their beloved husband and father after he died saving his son on April 14 at the lake in Lincoln Park. And they’re also trying to figure out how to move forward without him.
Juan, a handyman and cook, dove into the lake to rescue his 14-year-old autistic son, Kevin. The teen waded into the water while his father was on the phone with his brother in Michoacán, Mexico, according to Juan’s wife, Michelle.
Juan kept his son afloat long enough for a bystander to pull Kevin from the water relatively unharmed, Michelle, 44, said.
However, the boy’s father never resurfaced, with his wife believing he became trapped on the lake’s fountain. Rescuers pulled his body from the water after half an hour and rushed him to Los Angeles General Medical Center, where Michelle works on the overnight cleaning crew.
“They told me to wait for him in a room where most visitors are told their family members are dead or badly hurt,” Michelle said. “That’s when I knew he died.”
Her husband was declared deceased at the hospital, according to the County of Los Angeles medical examiner.
The cause and manner of death are still under investigation, labeled as “deferred,” the medical examiner’s office said. That generally means the department is requesting additional testing or studies.
Deferred cases can take a few months.
“We are devastated because he meant everything to us,” Michelle said. “He was a good father, a good husband and always showed he loved us.”
The family is hosting a private viewing on Tuesday. They are not disclosing the location or time, wanting to keep the memorial as small and family-focused as possible.
That may have been the easiest decision.
Michelle, Kevin and daughters Ruby, 16, and Esmeralda, 17, now must settle on where to lay him.
One option is to bury Juan in Kennewick, Wash., where his mother is urging his return. Juan, who was a field worker and cook at a Chinese restaurant at the time, wooed and married Michelle, who was then a Lowe’s cashier, there after meeting in 2008.
Michelle has also contemplated returning her husband’s body to Michoacán, to be with his younger brother, who died at 7 due to heart problems, whom he often spoke of missing terribly.
Then, another option is the Eastside, where Michelle is from and where the family moved to in 2020, at the suggestion of a sister-in-law, for Kevin’s enhanced therapeutic services.
“Kevin was nonresponsive and it was difficult to communicate with him,” his mother said, “and the opportunities were better for him here.”
Kevin can now string together words and has improved understanding between him and family members after years of behavioral and speech therapy supported by Applied Behavioral Analysis, the science of learning and behavior.
“Part of the decision about where to bury him is about money and if we’ll have enough for his viewing, his embalming and sending him to Washington or Mexico,” Michelle said.
Her niece, Elizabeth Silva, created an online fundraising campaign to help. Nearly $22,000 has been donated as of Friday morning.
The most difficult trial, however, is how to best honor the memory of the man at the center of the Andrade family.
For daughter Ruby, her father was a man of patience and love.
Six years ago when she was just 10, Ruby discovered how to log onto the family Amazon account and enjoyed an early Christmas for herself, ordering about $800 worth of merchandise, including clothing and toys, shipped to their Lincoln Heights home without her parents’ permission.
“His paycheck was only around $1,000 at the time,” she recalled with a chuckle, holding back tears. “But he didn’t get mad and never returned anything and instead told me that ‘my money is for you.’ He was that type of person.”
For Esmeralda, her father was a man who “made amazing corn tortillas,” tucked her in at night and always offered words of encouragement.
“He made us feel special and important,” she said. “It’s been difficult to not have him around and therapy isn’t the same as a hug or someone telling you, ‘I love you.’”
One morning in April, a bleary-eyed Michelle plopped into bed fully clothed after completing her grueling 11 p.m. to 7:30 a.m. shift.
That was until her husband gently removed her glasses and shoes and tossed a blanket over her. She dozed off in minutes, she said.
The evening had been busy for Juan too, she recalled, including cooking tacos for the children, mopping the kitchen and reading and conversing with Kevin.
“He always put his family first,” Michelle said. “He was so loving and I don’t know how we’re going to continue without him.”
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