Today we gather to honor the life and legacy of Francisco Pagan Pedraza.

Francisco was born in San Lorenza, Puerto Rico on July 24, 1946 to Juan

and Matilde Pagan Pedraza. He was the second of seven children (Carmen,

Maximino, Virginia, Alberto, Ramon and Juan Junior). He had a great love

for his family. Francisco was married in February of 1969 to Nitza Ortiz

Garcia. They welcomed four beautiful children into this world (David,

1969, Francisco Jr., 1974, Alex, 1975 and Suzee, 1977) whom he loved,

cherished with all of his heart, and was very proud of. Although later

divorced, Francisco and Nitza always remained close friends to the very

end.

Francisco was an electrician by trade for many years and truly enjoyed

working with his hands. All of his children had the opportunity to work

alongside him and learned of the complexities of his job and the

experience required for the field. He also had an affinity for numbers and

construction and would always identify where the beams and pipes were

positioned behind the walls in any room.

To describe the type of man he was, he was generous, kind, funny and

lighthearted. He had a love for many things from drinking coffee, to

playing cards and dominos, to watching every baseball game (but was a

true Yankees fan), watching old western movies (his favorite movie was

the Good the Bad and the Ugly, by Clint Eastwood) and riding his scooter

to play loo. Although he was a man of few words, he truly loved his

family and being around them more than anything. He absolutely loved

and lived for teasing his grandchildren and listening to them laugh would

make him smile. Having his family around him brought him so much joy

and is what he treasured most.

He also genuinely loved being able to aend Radiant Church with his

daughter and son-in-law and was saddened in the last year of his life that

he wasn't well enough to come as oen in person. He welcomed Jesus into

his heart and that decision shaped his spirit with hope and comfort. His

faith brought him even deeper peace.

Today we honor his life. He leaves his family with treasured memories

filled with laughter, lots of love and the peace he found in Jesus. He also

leaves us with the reassurance of his faith. A reminder that his goodbye is

not the end, but part of a larger story filled with grace. Francisco is

survived by his children David (Kathy), Francisco Jr. (Danielle), Alex,

Suzee (Timothy) and five grandchildren (Nicole, Justin, Andrew, Ava and

Daniel) each had a special place in his heart and he cherished every

opportunity being with them.