Jacob & Travis T.

Jake's light shone brighter than just about anyone I've ever met. His actions, his words, his greetings, his events, his heart had an outsized impact on every life they touched. To have met Jake once was to have a friend. His ability to welcome was astonishing. Perhaps the biggest lesson Jake taught me is one of hospitality. Very shortly after Jake and Daniel started dating, they hosted a "full moon dinner" in the Blagovich backyard. It entailed handcrafted invitations, a multi-course dinner, decoration, and a wishing paper activity to close out the night. This event was spectacular in every way, and all purely a labor of love, but my biggest takeaway from the event was how much joy Jake exuded just for having the opportunity to host a group of friends alongside his newfound love in Daniel. The picture attached is taken from a short clip I took years later at a Friendsgiving hosted at the house on Verde, which captures a similar moment of the joy I'm describing. My promise to Jake is to carry on the spirit of hospitality, hosting and joy of community. This week has been a living testament to how strong a community Jake helped to craft, just by living his truth and being. I love you, Jake.