If you knew José later in his adult life, you likely knew that he was a great lover of art of all kinds–most notably various performing arts and blown glass–and he was also incredibly proud of the many pieces he had personally collected.
After his ALS diagnosis in 2021, it took us longer than you might expect to get our legal ducks in a row—including health care directives, powers of attorney, and more. When we finally did, José put together a list of a few personal belongings that he wanted friends and family members to receive.*
When it came to his art, he provided very explicit direction:
It is my wish that my wife, Jennifer Barrett Fajardo, choose her favorite art pieces, not listed below, to retain for herself. Items not chosen by my wife, or distributed, as noted below, are to be donated to Hawai‘i Public Radio to use as a fundraiser to raise funds for an internship program in my honor.
This month I will be organizing an online auction to fulfill this final remaining request from José’s final wishes. I’d originally hoped to do this in May in honor of ALS Awareness Month but wasn’t able to make it happen then. Instead, my hope is to officially launch the auction on Friday, Sept. 12, in honor of his birthday.
This update is meant to serve as a heads-up and teaser of what’s coming, and to hold me accountable to making it happen. Expect to hear from me again on Friday! At that time, once the auction link is available, your help spreading the word to folks who knew and loved José is greatly appreciated.
* I’ve been in touch with most of you and if you haven’t received your package yet, please know it will be on it’s way to you soon! The one thing we neglected to plan for was the cost of mailing everything and it has added up to a considerable sum.
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