he would play outside. He would gently give them to his mom, his dad and even his brother in third grade, Alex saved his money to buy his mom a special birthday gift third in third grade, and so it was throughout the years, he insisted on giving from the heart, and his thoughtfulness was never overlooked. Alex's calm demeanor was a reflection of his highly emotional and sensitive character. He was always very close to their two dogs, Sophie and Katie, and these two pets absolutely loved and trusted Alex. All beings benefited from being close to Alex, everybody since very little, he was extremely close to his mother, Kyoko. He rarely separated from her, which triggered dedic, dedicated mom, Kyoko, to homeschool Alex for his pre K year. It was a mutual wish coming from Kyoko and Alex and his early joy for learning, she gave him and his brother the many, many hours she spent teaching them about the love for learning and reading proved to be one of the biggest gifts that both boys were given by mom. Kyoko Alex started kindergarten at St Andrews Catholic School, where he excelled always making himself and his loved ones proud of always being an honorable student. He was a really good person. His parents remember maybe a B, here and there, and Alex just knew that hard work and dedication could not be negotiated. Summers were spent having a lot of fun outside, and the boys appreciated the summer education. Afternoons, their mom prepared for them. They got books. They practiced reading, writing and learning new skills. His older brother was equally an exemplary student, and his love for books and education guided Alex in understanding how valuable this was. This encouragement for learning and excelling did pose a challenge for dad. Raphael, though, boys still got in a little bit of trouble every now and then. Thank goodness, nothing major, but punishments became a bit harder. No TV that would say that wasn't a problem for Alex and his brother, the boys would just read the books they were good. Ralph and Kyoko would scratch their heads and then would say, no video games. That wasn't a problem. The boys would just read the books. Ultimately, Dad would have to say, no books. I'm sorry. And that was indeed the worst punishment for them. That joke saying that it was like we had to leave them with nothing in the room, not even books. But they enjoyed each other. Companies that was very, very important. In 2003 Alex and his family moved back to Tokyo. It was time for a new adventure to begin for the family. Alex was about to start fifth grade at a very nice international school in Tokyo. This was a very rigorous school, but there was no doubt that Alex adapted very well. Alex and his brother loved living in Tokyo as a young teenager, both of them actually enjoyed being with friends, and together, they explored Tokyo, which allowed Alex to learn and live his Japanese culture given to him by his mom. The years in Tokyo presented the boys with opportunity to go snowboarding, water rafting, to play basketball and soccer with friends, much more traveling and which was something so cool for the boys experience the latest Japanese electronics that we didn't even have over here. It was like a little joke in our family. Here come the Japanese boys back to Orlando, bringing all the new gadgets we didn't even know about, we always received them with open arms. It was always a pleasure when they came to visit us. Alex's parents fondly remember how Alex took part in a rice planting project on a Japanese rice field, and how this heart filled with joy when he later donated rice bowls to the homeless. It was always a kind heart that guided Alex's interactions with anybody who crossed paths with him. After four years at the International School, Alex and his brother RAF came back to Orlando, to Florida, and attended mount verd Academy in preparation for their soon to come. College years, Alex completed ninth grade at this well structured boarding school where he made great friends and learned a lot. He then finished high school. His high school years at Ocoee high school, being once again close to friends he grew up with and spending a very special time with his uncle George and his Tia Libby, they lived together for a while when asking Alex what he wanted to be, what he wanted to study, one day, he was smart. He knew the world we live in nowadays is very competitive and hard work, dedication and no nonsense, approach to studies is necessary. I'm certain he thinks his mom. He thanks his mom for all the years she coached him and his brother in learning to love education. Alex started his college years in 2011 at Valencia, still young and in need of explore, exploring what career choices were going to present themselves. He opted for a business degree. At first, he was taking classes in finance and other business subjects. Eventually, Alex wanted to start out in the corporate world, maybe in banking, but ultimately, he didn't want to work for anybody. He wanted to be a leader and be free to make his own decisions and create goodness in this world. Again, at Valencia, friends were captivated by his funny, loving sense of humor. Did you know Alex was a marvelous impersonator. He would impersonate his mom and dad all the time, and it gives me great joy to share this with you, as we actually have quite a few great impersonators in the family, maybe he would have gone into the impersonation business comedy. He knew that he was the only one that could put limits to whatever the future could bring him. He was very smart this year, actually, in 2012 Alex started his first job at Texas Roadhouse. He was bussing tables, and his dad picked him up from his day, first day of work, and asked, How was your first day? Alex looked at him and said, What kind of question is that it was horrible. Alex's naive perception of the extremely hard and unglamorous work in the restaurant industry didn't stop him, though. He stayed to save money. He stayed to work close to his friends. He had a close friend that worked with him, but he was always ready for change and growth. In July, his uncle and I took him and his dad out to lunch.