Car Wash for Rojelio: Funnyman's family could use a hand
Rojelio Castellanos passed away on March 18 and now friends are raising money for his family with a car wash on Saturday, March 25.
By Tom Peterson
Ever the funny man Rojelio Castellanos is sorely missed by his workmates in the body shop at Underriner Ford, formerly Schultens in TD.
The 37-year-old self-taught body man with a young daughter had a stroke on March 7 and passed away on Saturday, March 18.
No one saw it coming.
It sent a shock through the dealership. And now his friends want to relieve the financial burden.
They’re pulling out their soap buckets and sponges and are asking for donations for TD’s Rojelio’s family in exchange for a clean vehicle.
They will hold a car wash from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. on Saturday, March 25 in the parking lot across the street from Montira’s Thai Cuisine at 405 W. 2nd St., next to T & T Coffee and Bagels.
Here is an excerpt from the GoFundMe set up for Rojelio.
Arianne Walker
In addition to his daughter, Rojelio also had a twin brother and his mother who have been devastated by his early death.
“We hope to blow this out of the water,” said Arianne Walker on March 23. She is organizing the event. “By the time we’re done, we hope to keep their financial worry at bay.”
T & T Coffee and Bagels is also committed to donating $1 to the fundraiser for every bagel they sell during that time.
Alanah Woolsey and Shawyna Spino were pumped to be chipping in to help the Castellanos family.
Friends of Rojelio: Michael Blanchard, Arianne Walker, Luis Garcia, Jorge Garcia and Valente Garcia are asking locals to get their car shined up for Rojelio, a good friend who passed from a stroke at age 37.
Who was Rojelio Castellanos?
His workmates said he was a YouTube master learner with nine lives having suffered a heart attack, stroke and undergone intestinal surgery before his latest ailment. He had not had an easy life.
But it never showed.
“He was a jokester, said Luis Garcia, who also worked with Rojelio in the body shop.
Here’s a little sample of what Rojelio thought was funny.
“Funny.”
“Hard working.”
“Self-Taught”
“Humble.”
Those were the words his friends used to describe him.
Rojelio often handed out these treats to his friends.
But they all fell back to his humor.
“He could always make you laugh,” said Valente Garcia, 31.
They wondered how the funny guy was still single.
“If you can make a girl laugh, how could you be single,” they questioned.
Support Local News
Available to Everyone; Funded by Readers.
“We’d come back from lunch and he would say, ‘here you go,’ and he would slip you a mazapan,” said Luis Garcia.
Mazapan is a traditional Mexican candy, a treat made of powdered sugar and peanuts.
“He was always slipping you those things,” Luis said.
To read about services for Rojelio, click here.
