Eduardo Serna Jr.

Weslaco- EJ Serna, 25, passed away on Thursday, October 27, 2016, at Knapp Medical Center in Weslaco. EJ was born on September 25th, 1991 to Eddie and Kim Serna. He had two older sisters, Liz and Roxy, one younger brother, Tim, and one younger sister, Alyssa. EJ was a blessing to all who knew him. He was very kind and compassionate and brought joy and laughter to almost every situation. He went to Memorial Elementary, Margo Elementary, and moved with mom to Sam Houston. He then went to Central Junior High and later graduated from Weslaco High in 2012. As many know, EJ was born with special needs, but he still managed to graduate from high school and even get a job. He worked at the outlet mall in Mercedes. He really enjoyed it, but he was so fascinated (and somewhat distracted), by all of the neat people he met, he had a hard time focusing on his actual job. In the meantime, he did what he did best, be-friended the needy EJ had many gifts, but one of his most special gifts, was comforting those in need. He could pick out the hurt and sad people out of a crowd. He was a bit partial to babies, pregnant women, the elderly and crying kids, all who, obviously, were in need of some comfort. He would visit with his Grandma Minnie and bring a laugh and a huge smile to her day. One little known secret, EJ had a gift of guessing the gender of a baby without a sonogram. He guessed the gender of many babies and held about a 90% average of positive identity. He began to get a bit of a reputation and ladies would, actually, ask him to feel their pregnant bellies and he was happy to oblige. Though EJ was twenty-five, he still loved Barney, Mickey Mouse, Chuck E Cheese, and every mascot he would come in contact with. The family spent many vacations at Disney World, which always included a special trip to Universal Studios, where EJ was greeted by name at the Barney musical show. He was a "regular" and missed by all, until his return the next summer vacation. He also loved and hugged to pieces almost every WHS Panther mascot there was and he especially loved Santa Clause at the Harlingen mall and as EJ grew and became stronger, so did his hugs. EJ was always a fun kid, loving cartoons and characters, but he was also very technologically savvy, sometimes, too savvy, hacking into mom and dad's facebook accounts. He loved to facetime all of his friends and family. EJ also participated in Special Olympics where he proudly participated in bowling and track&field events. As his sister, Alyssa, would say, EJ was a "man of the arts" as he enjoyed all types of music, attending symphonies and plays. He was a "Partner in crime" to many. Whether it was was going with his Grandma Brebner to horror movies and Dairy Queen, spending time with Grandpa Brebner at home, laughing at Aunt Sally's shenanigans, Chilling at Starbucks with Alyssa, missing the bus to school because he wanted to snooze an extra 5 minutes with Tim, joining mom at bingo and making Dad entertain him with his silly songs and tricks. Lastly, EJ was a proud Uncle, making sure he was at the birth of Matthew, Noah, Madelyn and Ben. To sum it up best, EJ was a child of love and we were blessed beyond words that God chose us to be his family. EJ is preceded in death by his grandfather, Timoteo Serna, his aunt and uncle, Rachel and Manny Rodriguez and his great-grandmother, Juanita Bochas. He is survived by his parents, Eduardo Serna Sr. "Eddie", Kimberly Serna, sisters, Elizabeth Longoria and husband Daniel, Roxanne Calderon, and Alyssa Serna, and brother, Tim Serna, gandparents, Richard and Margaret Brebner, grandmother, Minnie Serna, aunts, Jennifer Olszak, Laurie Rodriguez (Rolando), Melissa Salinas (Richie), Celina S. Castro (Hector), Timoteo Serna Jr., Linda Luera, Ricardo Daniel Serna, and George Robert Serna (Edith), nephews, Benjamin, Matthew and Noah, niece, Madelyn, and numerous cousins. As God would plan it, though EJ touched so many lives in so many beautiful and powerful ways, he wasnt expected to make it past birth. EJ would always look forward to celebrations, Thanksgiving, Christmas and of course, birthdays. He would always keep track of the next birthday. He just celebrated his own and he continually reminded mom that hers was next. His favorite time of year, though he loved ALL special occasions and holidays, was Halloween and Christmas. Celebration of EJ's life will be held on Monday, October 31st, 2016, "Halloween" at 2pm, at St. Joan of Arc Catholic Church in Weslaco, with burial to follow at Highland Memorial Park. Visitation will be on Sunday, October 30th, from 1-9pm, with a rosary at 6pm.