Former Tampa High School star will be buried in Miami today
Today, the body of Jose Fernandez, who started his baseball career in Tampa, will be laid to rest in Miami later today. A private funeral for Fernandez will be held today and the family has said that In lieu of flowers, the Fernandez family requests charitable contributions to the JDF16 Foundation at the Miami Foundation.
Fernández,24, and two other men were found dead after their boat was discovered at the entrance of Miami Harbor, said Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission spokesman Lorenzo Veloz.
Coast Guard personnel on patrol noticed the vessel upside down on the north end of a rocky jetty shortly after 3:15 a.m. on Sunday morning. The baseball world was stunned and saddened by the news of his death.
Yesterday, the Miami community bid a final farewell to Miami Marlins star pitcher with a public memorial. A funeral procession began at Marlins Park and traveled to Ermita de la Caridad in Miami for a blessing, before heading to Saint Brendan’s Catholic Church for a public viewing.
Hundreds of fans gathered on the West Plaza of Marlins Park as the hearse carrying the body of Fernandez arrived around 2 p.m.
Marlins owner Jeffrey Loria, manager Don Mattingly, hitting coach Barry Bonds and the team’s players, including Marcel Ozuna and Giancarlo Stanton, wore white T-shirts emblazoned with Fernandez’s image and the letters “RIP.”
Fernandez died early Sunday morning when his boat crashed into a jetty off South Beach, killing him and his two friends, Emilio Macias and Eduardo Rivero. As state officials continue investigating the crash, trying to determine who was driving and how the group ran up against the rock-lined jetty, the rest of the city has been forced to plow on without him.
The Marlins returned to the field on Monday, winning an emotional game against the New York Mets following a pregame ceremony honoring the Cuban-born pitcher. By the time his funeral procession rolled past on Wednesday, the team was still struggling to grasp that the smiling, laughing, energetic presence in their clubhouse was really gone.
Marlins players surrounded the hearse, then walked it down the street as fans chanted “Jose, Jose!”
Fernandez was loved in the Cuban community in Miami they related to his escape from Cuba and the island’s communist government.
Fernández’s pregnant girlfriend, Maria Arias, made her first public appearance since the Miami Marlins pitcher’s death, attending his memorial ceremony on Wednesday, September 28.
Dressed in black, with her growing baby bump on display, Arias joined Fernández’s family, including his mother and grandmother, at the memorial service at La Ermita de la Caridad in Coconut Grove, Florida.
VIDEO FROM WSVN TV 7 MIAMI AND WFOR TV MIAMI