We Will Not Let Hate Win

A certified pharmacy technician born in Springfield, Massachusetts before his family moved to Florida, Stanley was a graduate of East Ridge High School in Clermont and was remembered as irrepressibly funny, the person who could walk into a frowning room and leave everyone smiling. His family asked that people remember his smile and the way he lived every day as if it were his last. His Florida hometown of Clermont formally honored him with a proclamation declaring a day in his memory, and he is among the names read aloud each year at Pulse anniversary observances, a young man whose warmth outlasted him.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; WFTV; ClickOrlando.

A pharmacy technician studying to become a nurse at the University of South Florida, Amanda was remembered by her brother as a loving person who was all heart, someone who got along with everybody, no matter what they looked like. She was at Pulse with her best friend Mercedez Flores, who also died that night; with a third friend the trio had been inseparable since their school days, so full of laughter that everyone called them the Hyenas. In the weeks after the attack her brother Brian began a Hugs, Not Hate campaign, embracing strangers across Central Florida to answer hatred with affection. Each December, around Amanda's birthday, her family hosts the Amanda's Angels Legacy of Love toy drive, giving gifts in her name because, as her mother Mayra said, Amanda liked to spread joy.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; FOX 13; WTSP; ClickOrlando.

Oscar came from the Dominican Republic, moving to Central Florida with his father as a child while staying close to his mother in Santo Domingo, whom he called often; she was granted a special visa to attend his funeral. He worked as a manager at McDonald's and was, by every account, always trying to better himself, a young man with a radiant smile who loved to dance to bachata. He had recently bought a home with his partner, Simon Carrillo Fernandez, where they lived with their three chihuahuas, and the two had just returned from a trip together. Simon was also among the forty-nine, and the couple is remembered together, their names read each year among the Pulse forty-nine.

Sources: ClickOrlando; Orlando Weekly; Romper.

Known to friends as Rody, he worked as a platelet supervisor at OneBlood, the donation center that, in the days after the attack, collected blood for its survivors. Colleagues remembered a joyful, courageous, dance-loving presence who brought so much light to the team every day. OneBlood placed a plaque in its lobby with his photograph, and his coworkers pass it daily; as one of them said, I pass by it all the time and look at him and just smile. A decade on, his team still keeps his memory close, saying simply that they miss him tremendously and will forever remember him.

Sources: Spectrum News 13; ABC Action News.

Alejandro grew up in Cuba and moved to Orlando in 2014 to live with his father, working to master English and, as his father said, to build his project of happiness. Those who knew him recalled a young man who always had a smile on his face, joyful and hopeful, with a new job he had just landed. One of his final wishes was honored when his idol, the Puerto Rican singer Olga Tañón, performed at his funeral and gave his family a blouse she had worn in one of her music videos, a gesture his loved ones treasured. His mother received a humanitarian visa to see him one last time, and his partner wrote to him afterward, I promise you I will always love you, as you did until the final minute of your life.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; Washington Blade.

Originally from Puerto Rico, Martin was studying to become a pharmacy technician at a Tampa campus of the Ana G. Méndez University System and was visiting family in Orlando when he died. Friends called him Flaco and remembered a humble, generous, deeply creative soul with a gift for costume and design; a former coworker recalled that he loved to design costumes for office Halloween parties, and a friend called him the best costume-maker and the life of the party. Another friend described him as a humble, caring soul, a person who gave and expected nothing in return. On his Facebook page he had shared a reflection about treasuring everything beautiful in the world, a fitting note for an artist remembered for the joy and color he brought to every room.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; ClickOrlando.

Antonio "Tony" Brown was a captain in the U.S. Army Reserve and a 2008 graduate of Florida A&M University, where he studied criminal justice and took part in ROTC, later earning a master's degree in business administration. Commissioned in 2008 and promoted to captain in 2012, he served as an observer-controller and trainer and completed an eleven-month deployment to Kuwait, and his decorations included the Meritorious Service Medal. His commander remembered him as a loyal and dutiful officer who truly cared about the soldiers in his charge, a leader who met every challenge with a smile on his face and an unwavering spirit. Fellow alumni and soldiers have continued to honor his memory and his service.

Sources: DVIDS; Military.com; Task & Purpose. Some outlets list his age as 29.

Darryl "DJ" Burt II was a financial-aid officer at Keiser University in Jacksonville, where he worked with military and veteran students after rising from a job managing a McDonald's. Just before he died he was celebrating a master's degree in human resources management. A newer member of the Jacksonville Jaycees, he had already co-chaired a clothing drive for people experiencing homelessness, and the chapter's president called him a rising star who was all about giving back. Friends and colleagues remembered him as vivacious and full of life, with a big heart turned toward his community.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; News4Jax; Heavy.

A young television producer, Jonathan moved to Florida in 2015 to chase a media career, joining Telemundo as a producer on the children's singing show "La Voz Kids." A graduate of the University of Puerto Rico at Arecibo and a member of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, he was remembered by those who taught and loved him as someone who always smiled and was full of life, no matter how late they were working. He stayed devoted to his family, calling his mother daily and affectionately naming her his eternal girlfriend, the one woman who would never break his heart. His parents asked that people remember his philosophy of living fully: we are born to live, and so short is our time that it is a bad idea not to enjoy every step and every moment.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; NBC News.

A nurse and National Guard member from Guánica, Puerto Rico, Angel had built his career with care, studying nursing in Puerto Rico and spending nearly two years at the Illinois College of Optometry in Chicago before relocating to the Orlando area. He was just days from starting a new job as an ophthalmic technician at the Florida Retina Institute, which said it had been looking forward to Angel becoming part of the FRI family. Colleagues remembered his kindness, his vivacious spirit, and his passion for fitness and dancing, and his aunt described him as humble, respectful, and studious. Among the earliest of the forty-nine to be brought home, he was buried with military honors in Guánica, laid to rest in a white lab coat with his stethoscope, his coffin draped with an American flag, mourned across his island hometown.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; NPR; CBC; Daily Herald.

Originally from Venezuela, Simon moved to Florida in 2006 and worked his way from a job at McDonald's to general manager, becoming a U.S. citizen and studying accounting with the dream of his own business. Colleagues remembered a boss who never forgot a birthday and always arrived with a cake. He doted on his chihuahuas, loved to travel, and made his sister laugh so hard she called their time together laughter therapy. He had recently returned from a trip with his partner, Oscar Aracena-Montero, with whom he had bought a home, and Oscar was also among the forty-nine. His name is read each year at Orlando's anniversary remembrances.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; Legacy.com.

Known as Juancho, Juan came from Huichapan, Mexico, having left home nearly a decade earlier to help lift his family out of poverty by sending money back to his parents. He worked as a housekeeping supervisor at a Kissimmee resort while pursuing a creative dream as a hairstylist, makeup artist, and decorator, and he loved music and dance and was generous with his nieces. Friends said he left them his joy and his willingness to share his artistic gifts. A tribute cross bearing his name was placed among the others outside the Orange County Regional History Center in Orlando, where the memorial crosses were displayed and later preserved in the state archives.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; Florida Memory.

A makeup artist from Puerto Rico, Luis co-owned the Kissimmee salon Alta Peluquería D'Magazine with his partner, the hairstylist Juan P. Rivera Velázquez, who was also among the forty-nine. The two had known each other since high school in Puerto Rico and were partners for roughly sixteen years, described by those who knew them as inseparable. At the salon Juan styled hair while Luis handled makeup and managed the business, and together they worked fashion shows and community pageants. Luis was remembered for making people feel beautiful; months after the couple died, Juan's sister reopened the salon as a way to continue their legacy.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; AJC; Spectrum News 13.

A 2013 graduate of Edgewater High School in Orlando, Cory was studying at Valencia College and bagging groceries at a College Park Publix while working toward his dream of becoming a firefighter; on Facebook he had written of the calling, it is not something you do, it is something you are. He loved football, racecars, and his girlfriend, and family and friends remembered him as funny, respectful, and hardworking. After his death Orange County honored him as an honorary firefighter, and Edgewater High School retired his No. 81 football jersey. The school's parent association established an annual scholarship in his name for two college-bound seniors who reflect the values he showed on and off campus.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; Watermark; Firehouse.

Tevin grew up in Statesville, North Carolina, the youngest of three children, and went into business, founding his own marketing company, Total Entrepreneurs Concepts, whose initials echoed his own. As a leader he kept his team motivated with inspirational quotes and bowling nights, and he was the friend always ready with advice and a helping hand. He was close to his sister and her children, traveling often for family milestones, and he loved to cook for family gatherings. His sister remembered him simply: my brother was full of light, full of energy.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; ClickOrlando; Detroit News.

Franky "Jimmy" DeJesús Velázquez, a native of San Juan, Puerto Rico, and at fifty the oldest of the forty-nine, lived in Orlando, where he worked as a visual merchandiser and was known online for his funny, uplifting posts. In Puerto Rico he had enjoyed an illustrious dancing career, traveling the world with Gíbaro de Puerto Rico, a troupe devoted to the island's traditional jíbaro folk music. Friends recalled a perfectionist with a stubborn streak and a devoted uncle who made time each week for a short phone call with each of his many nieces and nephews. He was at Pulse with his closest friends the night he died, and his name endures in the One Orlando Collection kept to honor those lost.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; One Orlando Collection.

Deonka "Dee Dee" Drayton was raised in the Midlands of South Carolina and was a larger-than-life presence, remembered for her jokes, her dreadlocks and snapback hats, and the fierce love she gave the people she cared about. She dreamed of becoming a chef and was working to build a better life for herself and her young son. Loved ones described her as ambitious and confident, someone who, at heart, simply wanted to be loved, and she was working at Pulse the night of the attack. Her family has returned to Orlando's anniversary ceremonies to keep her memory; at one remembrance her mother told those gathered that her daughter's spirit lives on through the memories and love she shared with so many.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; Florida Courier; Post and Courier.

Born in Queens, New York, and of Guatemalan heritage, Mercedez lived in Davenport, Florida, and worked at Target while studying at Valencia College, where she pursued an interest in literature and hoped to become a party planner. Loved ones called her a beautiful soul, free-spirited, caring, and determined; her father called her the happiest girl of all time. A devoted music fan, she went to Pulse often on weekends, frequently alongside her best friend, Amanda Alvear. The two were at Latin Night together the night they both died, their bond remembered by friends as deeply supportive.

Sources: Romper; Bustle; 6abc.

Known to family as Ommy, Peter worked for UPS in Orlando, where customers remembered him always smiling, and he was one of the youngest of the forty-nine. He was the center of his social circle, the life of any party; as his aunt put it, if Peter is not at the party, no one wants to go. A former teacher wrote that she was honored to have a young man of his caliber as a student. His mother remembered him as confident, humble, and unfailingly positive, a young man whose smile reflected true love, writing after his death that a piece of her life was torn away.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; ClickOrlando.

Juan had just finished his first year of pre-finance studies at the University of Central Florida. He had come out to a loving, accepting family, and had been with his partner, Christopher "Drew" Leinonen, for nearly two years; the two were talking about a future together. After both were killed at Pulse, their families chose to hold a joint funeral, an idea proposed by Drew's mother, so the couple could be side by side as loved ones said goodbye. Their story became one of the most widely told of that June, and in Drew's memory friends founded The Dru Project, which supports gay-straight alliances and awards scholarships to LGBTQ students, carrying forward the love the two men shared.

Sources: TIME; UCF; Orlando Weekly.

Paul Terrell Henry was a Chicago native and a devoted father of two whose children came first in everything he did. A lifelong learner, he earned a master's degree in business and a degree in theology, and friends remembered him most for his joy in music, dancing, playing piano, and singing. At the time of his death he was making a home in Florida and preparing to return to school once again. His surviving partner, Francisco Hernandez, said Paul saw the best in him and pushed him toward it, and after the loss enrolled in college to finish the degree Paul had always believed he could earn.

Sources: Orlando Sentinel; Legacy.com; WFLA.

Frank Hernandez grew up in Weslaco, Texas, and was proud of exactly who he was. He began working at Calvin Klein not long after graduating high school in 2006 and rose to store manager, moving from Texas to Orlando about two years before his death for the chance to run a store there. He often dressed in rainbow colors or his "GAY O.K." shirt, and he wore a tattoo on his arm that read love has no gender. He was building a life in Orlando with his longtime boyfriend, Brett Rigas, and their two dogs, and those who loved him remembered a lively, big-hearted man who carried his pride openly.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; Romper; San Antonio Current.

Miguel Ángel Honorato was a husband and a father of three sons who managed several central Florida restaurants and ran a catering business. He came to the United States from Mexico as a young child and grew up in Apopka, surrounded by a large, close family that knew him as the one who would drop everything to help. His relatives ran a longtime Mexican food business, and Miguel dreamed of growing it into something more contemporary and welcoming. After his death his family carried that dream forward: in April 2018 his brother opened a restaurant in Apopka named San Miguel Mexican Grill, run in Miguel's honor and carrying his name.

Sources: Spectrum News 13; The Apopka Voice.

Javier Jorge-Reyes, known to friends as Javi, was a native of Guayama, Puerto Rico, who took deep pride in his heritage. He studied at the Universidad del Sagrado Corazón and built a career in Orlando as a salesman and supervisor at Gucci, where customers and colleagues adored him for his humor, his sass, and his ready smile. A skilled makeup artist as well, he was remembered by friends as humble, generous, and relentlessly positive, the kind of person whose energy and love of beautiful things were infectious. He was laid to rest near his family in Guayama, and those who knew him keep his memory alive through tributes that recall how much warmth he brought to their lives.

Sources: ClickOrlando; Heavy; Legacy.com.

Jason Benjamin Josaphat was one of the youngest of the forty-nine, a Haitian American born in Fort Lauderdale to Haitian parents. He was an ambitious young man with many passions, among them photography, athletics, and computers, and he had recently trained as a business office specialist at Southern Technical College, where staff remembered him as an exceptional student. As both a Black and an LGBTQ young man, he bridged communities that are too often left out of the way Pulse is remembered. After his death, Southern Technical College held a blood drive dedicated to his memory, and a tribute cross bearing his name stood outside the Orange County Regional History Center among those honoring the victims.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; Bay News 9; Florida Memory.

Eddie Jamoldroy Justice was an accountant who lived in downtown Orlando and was, by his family's account, a homebody who loved to eat, work out, and make everyone laugh. During the attack he sent his mother, Mina Justice, a series of text messages that began Mommy I love you. In the years since, Mina has refused to let her son fade from memory, vowing to keep talking until she cannot talk anymore, and pledging to make sure everyone knows who he was and what he stood for. To his mother he was, simply, her everything.

Sources: CBS News; NBC News; WFTV.

Anthony Luis Laureano Disla was a gifted dancer and choreographer from San Juan, Puerto Rico, who had been dancing since he was about ten years old. He studied in Santurce before moving to Orlando to chase his dream of choreography, and he loved suspenders and fedoras as he danced mambo, salsa, and ballroom. He also performed in drag as Alanis Laurell, a well-known presence on stage. The night he died, he was celebrating that the following Monday he was to begin work as a choreographer for the Telemundo program "La Voz Kids." Since his death, his mother, Olga Disla, has been an outspoken advocate for stronger gun laws and for equality, and a steady voice for accountability in how Orlando remembers its dead.

Sources: ClickOrlando; Orlando Weekly; CPI.

Christopher Andrew "Drew" Leinonen was a mental-health counselor who earned his degrees at the University of Central Florida. As a teenager he founded one of the area's first gay-straight alliances, work that earned him an Anne Frank Humanitarian Award and that made student GSAs the heart of his life's advocacy. He was at Pulse with his partner of nearly two years, Juan Ramón Guerrero, also among the forty-nine; after both were killed, their families held a joint funeral. In June 2017 his friends founded The Dru Project to carry his spirit forward, a nonprofit that funds college scholarships, supports gay-straight alliances, and publishes a widely used GSA guide. His mother, Christine Leinonen, became a nationally known advocate for gun-violence prevention, and through her voice and his friends' foundation, Drew's belief in unity and love continues to reach LGBTQ young people across the country.

Sources: TIME; The Dru Project; Watermark.

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool was a mother of eleven, a grandmother of six, and a two-time cancer survivor, remembered as loud, funny, over-the-top, and fiercely loving, forever taking in others who needed help. Originally from Brooklyn, she was at Latin Night dancing salsa with her son Isaiah, who is gay and could be fully himself in that room; Isaiah survived. Her step-nephew, the actor Wilson Cruz, has said she went to Pulse so that her son could be exactly who he was without any fear, and that there was nothing she would not do to make sure Isaiah felt loved and protected. At her funeral in Orlando, Isaiah paid tribute to the mother who had given everything for her children.

Sources: NBC News; The Washington Post; ABC News.

Jean Carlos Méndez Pérez moved from Puerto Rico as a young man and became a warm, popular salesman at a perfume shop in the Orlando area. It was there, selling a bottle of cologne, that he met Luis Daniel Wilson-León, beginning a relationship that lasted about eight years. Friends described the two as opposites who could not live without each other, and they were regulars at Pulse who loved Latin Night. A doting uncle who treasured time with his nieces and nephews, Jean Carlos was remembered by his father as dynamic. He and Luis, also among the forty-nine, died together at the club they loved, remembered as inseparable in life as they were that night.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; Heavy; Legacy.com.

Akyra Monet Murray was the youngest of the forty-nine. She had graduated only days earlier from West Catholic Preparatory High School in Philadelphia, finishing third in her class of 2016, and she was a standout guard who reached 1,000 career points and had signed to play at Mercyhurst University on scholarship. She was in Orlando with family to celebrate her graduation. At a vigil at Philadelphia City Hall, her teammates led mourners in a march, chanting West Catholic lives for Akyra. Her school retired her number 20 jersey and has carried her name forward through a scholarship presented for the first time to a former teammate, who called Akyra a mentor not just on the court but off of it as well.

Sources: CBS Philadelphia; Orlando Weekly; NBC Philadelphia.

Kimberly "KJ" Morris grew up in Torrington, Connecticut, and spent about a decade in western Massachusetts, where she could fully be herself. She worked door staff at a Northampton nightclub and performed as a beloved drag king known as Daddy K, a Northampton Pride fixture remembered for making the people watching feel like they were up on the stage with her. A former college athlete, she had moved to Orlando about two months before the shooting to be closer to family, and she was working at Pulse. Friends in both states remembered her as warm, gregarious, and larger than life. Her hometown circle has kept her name alive through a memorial scholarship directed through the Community Foundation of Western Massachusetts, with donations collected on the anniversary of her death.

Sources: CT Public; Daily Hampshire Gazette; ClickOrlando.

Jean Carlos Nieves Rodríguez came from Puerto Rico and graduated from high school in Orlando, then built a working life through steady effort, rising from a teenage job at McDonald's to managing a store. About a month and a half before his death he had bought his first house, so that he and his mother could live somewhere nicer. He was a quiet support for his younger sister, covering her phone bill when money was short and once telling her he loved her more than he loved himself. He was remembered by family and friends as kind and hardworking, and a tribute cross bearing his name stood among those honoring the victims in Orlando.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; Florida Memory.

Luis Omar Ocasio-Capó, known to everyone as Omar, spent his childhood in Ponce, Puerto Rico, dancing at parades and festivals from an early age. He worked as a barista at a Target Starbucks and had registered for theater classes at Valencia College that were to begin the very week of the shooting. Friends and a former teacher called him a ray of sunshine, and his sister said he danced to anything and was all smiles. He dreamed of acting and, above all, of lifting his mother out of poverty and making her proud. His sister later reflected that his name did travel all around the world as he had hoped, just not in the way anyone wanted.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; ClickOrlando; One Orlando Collection.

Geraldo Ortiz-Jiménez, called Drake by friends, traveled to Orlando from Puerto Rico to see Selena Gomez perform, a concert he was thrilled to attend as a devoted fan who often posted videos of himself singing along to her songs. He was studying law at the Universidad del Este in Puerto Rico and was a dedicated gym-goer who shared workout photos right up to the night before he died. Friends from his gym back on the island mourned him publicly, and he was remembered as sweet, funny, and kind to everyone he met. While performing two days after the shooting, Selena Gomez dedicated a song to the forty-nine, an act of remembrance tied to fans like him.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; ClickOrlando.

Eric Iván Ortiz-Rivera was raised in Dorado, Puerto Rico, and moved to Orlando in 2007 for a better life, working in retail and merchandising. A creative spirit known for being always happy, he loved to paint and carried a playful humor. He was only weeks from his first wedding anniversary with his husband, whom he had married on June 26, 2015, the day the Supreme Court affirmed nationwide marriage equality, a coincidence the family called big and happy. His sister honored him with a feather tattoo echoing one Eric had gotten, adding birds because, she said, he is flying high.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; ClickOrlando; Heavy.

Joel Rayón Paniagua was a native of Veracruz, Mexico, who left home to work in gardening and construction and settled in the Tampa area, becoming a hardworking provider for his family back in Veracruz. By June 2016 he had paid off the last of what he owed and was beginning to save toward a brighter future. Family and friends remembered him for his piety, his humility, and his good humor, and friends recalled him as loyal and fun, always trying to do things to make you feel better. He loved to dance, and he had gone to Pulse that night to dance with friends.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; Legacy.com. Some outlets list his age as 31.

Enrique Ríos Jr. came from Brooklyn's Williamsburg neighborhood and built his young life around caring for others. He worked as a care coordinator at a home-health agency and was studying social work, driven by a deep devotion to older people, and he chose to live with and look after his ailing grandmother. Mourners, many dressed in purple, his favorite color, remembered his contagious laughter, his love of salsa and bachata, and his love of cooking with his mother. He was visiting Orlando for a friend's birthday. His mother, Gertrude Merced, asked that his legacy be one of love, not fear, and the response to a fundraiser to bring him home far exceeded her modest goal, a measure of how widely he was loved.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; ClickOrlando; DNAinfo.

Juan Pablo Rivera Velázquez was a hairstylist and makeup artist from Puerto Rico who ran the Alta Peluquería D'Magazine salon in Kissimmee with his partner, Luis D. Conde, also among the forty-nine. The two had attended the same high school in Puerto Rico and were partners of roughly sixteen years; his sister said their love could not be compared. Their salon was a haven for the community, a place where people knew they were loved, and Juan was developing a cosmetics line he called Color Face Creation. After the couple was killed, his sister reopened the salon as D'Magazine by Juan P. and relaunched his makeup line in his honor, with their mother resolving that they had to keep his legacy going.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; AJC; Spectrum News 13.

Yilmary "Mary" Rodríguez Solivan had moved from Ponce, Puerto Rico, to Kissimmee with her family. She was a wife and the mother of two young sons, the younger only about three months old, and she was remembered by her sister as the most loving and caring person you could ever meet, someone whose smile lit up the room and whose laughter brought a smile to your heart. A surviving photograph from that night shows her smiling so widely her eyes crinkled. She was out with friends, including Jonathan Camuy Vega, who was also among the forty-nine, and her family established a fundraiser to support her husband and her two young sons.

Sources: Orlando Weekly; ClickOrlando; NBC News.

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz was a personal banker for JPMorgan Chase in the Tampa area who had worked his way up from teller while taking business classes, attending Hillsborough Community College after graduating from Gaither High School in 2010. At Gaither he was active in the marching band, and friends and family remembered him as outgoing and relentlessly positive, described by one as the most positive guy I have ever known. After his death, Chase publicly mourned him as one of our own, and a vigil was held for him at Gaither High School, drawing classmates and community members. His family sought to channel their grief into inclusive programs at his alma mater, keeping his name tied to a welcoming place for students.

Sources: Tampa Bay Times; WUSF; Legacy.com.

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano Rosado, a dancer and performer from Ponce, Puerto Rico, was known on stage as "Eman Valentino" and was celebrated for a stage presence built on years of theme-park and club performance. To spend more time with his young son, Kelvyn, he had stepped back from full-time performing and taken work at a shoe store, and friends and family said his life centered on his child. He was remembered as a devoted father who built blanket forts and played video games with his son, and a man whose personality could light up a room. In his final months he had found happiness in a relationship with Leroy Valentin Fernandez, also among the forty-nine; the two spent their last night together at Pulse, and a public radio remembrance later preserved accounts of his artistry as the man who could dance.

Sources: CF Public; Orlando Weekly; ClickOrlando.

Gilberto Ramón Silva Menéndez came from Manatí, Puerto Rico, and had moved to Orlando, where he worked while studying healthcare management at Ana G. Méndez University with the dream of becoming a health professional and helping people in need. Beyond his studies, he was active in the dog show world as a Saint Bernard enthusiast, and after his death the dog-fancier community paid tribute to him as one of their own. Those who knew him remembered a happy young man who loved music and life, his community connections stretching from Puerto Rico to Orlando to the national world of purebred dog enthusiasts.

Sources: American Kennel Club; Orlando Weekly.

Edward "Eddie" Sotomayor Jr., of Sarasota, Florida, was a national brand manager for an LGBTQ travel company and one of the most recognized figures in the gay travel market. He became beloved as "Top Hat Eddie" for the black top hat he wore on tours so travelers could spot him in a crowd. His work spanned themed cruises and the organizing of the first gay cruise for Americans to Cuba, and he carried a personal mantra: do all the good you can, to as many people as you can, as often as you can. Mourners wore top hats at his funeral in his honor, and artists in Cuba staged a live street tribute in his memory, with performers in top hats chanting his words. Colleagues remembered him as a trailblazer who believed travel was the key that unlocks bias and a lack of understanding.

Sources: Tampa Bay Times; Travel Weekly; ClickOrlando.

Shane Evan Tomlinson was a singer and the lead vocalist and manager of the central Florida band Frequency, and a 2003 graduate of East Carolina University, where he earned a degree in communication. He chased a music career with his whole heart, performing at venues around Orlando, and he had performed the very night before the shooting. Those who knew him described a giving heart and a man who had a heart for everybody and liked to help people in need. An administrator at his alma mater remembered that he was destined for a grand stage and was doing exactly what he wanted to do, and after his death the university gathered for a vigil in his honor in Greenville, North Carolina.

Sources: ClickOrlando; Orlando Weekly; Heavy.

Leroy Valentin Fernandez was devoted to caring for his mother and had recently started a job he loved as a leasing agent at an Orlando apartment community. Friends described him as spirited and joyful, someone who filled the world around him with music and fun. In his final months he had found love with the dancer Xavier Serrano Rosado, also among the forty-nine, and the two spent their last night together at Pulse. He is remembered as a young man whose warmth drew people in and whose new chapter, in both work and love, had only just begun.

Sources: Romper; CF Public; NBC News.

Luis Sergio Vielma worked as a ride attendant on Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey at Universal Orlando while studying to become a physical therapy assistant at Seminole State College. His death drew an outpouring of grief that reached the author J.K. Rowling, who wrote that she could not stop crying on learning he had died and sent flowers to his family with a note reading, to Luis, who died for love, you will never be forgotten. In the days after the shooting, coworkers, friends, and parkgoers gathered near Hogwarts Castle at Universal to raise their wands in his memory, a tribute that became one of the most widely shared images of mourning after Pulse. His sister later carried his spirit of care forward as a nursing student in his name.

Sources: TODAY; ClickOrlando; onePULSE Foundation.

Luis Daniel Wilson-León, a Puerto Rico native, moved to Florida in 2004 barely speaking English and quickly built a life there, working as a manager at a shoe store. About a decade before his death he met his longtime partner, Jean Carlos Méndez Pérez, when he bought a fragrance from the perfume counter where Jean worked, and the two fell in love soon after. Friends remembered Luis as a protector and a rock who, having faced homophobia in his youth, never answered hate with hate and instead offered steady support to those who needed it. He and Jean, also among the forty-nine, were inseparable in life and were killed together, their story retold as one of the enduring couples among the Pulse victims.

Sources: Pulse Orlando; Heavy; Legacy.com.

Jerald "Jerry" Arthur Wright was a Walt Disney World cast member who worked in merchandising at the Magic Kingdom and had earned a promotion just two days before his death. He was at Pulse to help a friend celebrate a 21st birthday, and coworkers remembered him for his smile and his warmth. In the years since, his parents, Fred and Maria Wright, lifelong Republicans and Second Amendment supporters, became dedicated advocates for gun-violence prevention. Maria Wright responded to the loss by asking, my son was killed, what can I do, and the couple went on to work with the Everytown Survivor Network and to speak before audiences including Orlando Pride and Moms Demand Action, turning their grief into a public call for change.

Sources: Billboard; FIU Caplin News; Orlando Weekly.