If people remember only one thing about Staff Sgt. Jimmy J. Arroyave, remember that he lived and died a proud Marine.
As Arroyave's wife, Rachelle, and mother, Carmenza Brennan, planned Jimmy's funeral Monday, they said that is the message they want people to know.
"I know in my heart he died doing what he loved to do," Rachelle Arroyave said. "He was proud to be a Marine, and he loved the military."
The Defense Department reported that Arroyave, 30, of Woodland was killed Thursday in a vehicle accident in Ramadi, Iraq.
He was serving his second mission in Iraq with the Combat Service Support Battalion 1, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which is stationed out of Camp Pendleton.
Military officials gave the Marine's family few details about his death, other than that he died in a noncombat vehicle rollover while traveling in a convoy.
Brennan, a nurse at UC Davis Medical Center, said she came home from work Thursday to find military officers waiting for her with the news of her son's death.
The Arroyaves have two daughters - 6-year-old Vanessa and 2-year-old Natalia. Rachelle is expecting the couple's third child in October.
"If it's a boy, I'll name it after his father," she said.
Jimmy Arroyave also had an 11-year-old daughter in Woodland, Katie Arroyave.
Brennan said her son was a man with a "big heart" who took good care of his mother, wife and children.
"He's my only son. And he's not only my son, he's my best friend," said a tearful Brennan as she sat in her living room before a makeshift shrine of candles, flowers and pictures of her son.
Arroyave is the second Woodland man to be killed in the U.S.-led military ventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts, a 1987 graduate of Woodland High, died in 2002 in combat in Afghanistan.
Arroyave served as a utilities technician in Iraq, helping to purify the water at the camps the Marines established. He wasn't able to call home much since his latest arrival in Iraq on March 2, but he did e-mail his wife often to tell her he loved her and the children.
"In his last e-mail, he said his Easter was OK. He asked how were the girls. He said he loved and missed us, and hopefully he would be home in October before the baby was born," Rachelle Arroyave said in a phone interview from her home at Camp Pendleton.
Arroyave also usually asked about the Kings. Last year, he was sorely disappointed when he missed the Kings' final playoff game because he was in Iraq.
"He was an avid Kings fan," Rachelle Arroyave said. "I would try to go on the Sacramento Kings Web site and update him."
Jimmy Arroyave also had a passion for U.S. national parks. The family visited the Channel Islands before he deployed, and they had hoped to visit more national parks in Arizona and New Mexico when he returned.
A 10-year veteran of the Marines, Jimmy Arroyave knew as a child that he wanted to be a soldier, his family said. Arroyave moved to Woodland about 20 years ago with his mother. He enlisted in the Marines when he was 19 years old.
His wife said he had hoped to put in at least 20 years in the service. He was vying for a job as a recruiter back in the States so he could stand a better chance of being promoted to gunnery sergeant, she said.
Born in Cali, Colombia, Arroyave is a 1992 graduate of Cache Creek High School, a continuation school in the Woodland Joint Unified School District.
Arroyave's mother said she told her son that she did not want him to join the military, but her son assured her he would be safe.
Rachelle Arroyave, a graduate of Woodland High School, said she met her husband at an athletic club in Woodland. The couple married in 1998.
They have been apart for long stretches of their marriage while Arroyave served in Japan or on other assignments. They had hoped those periods away from each other would soon come to an end if he got a position as a recruiter.
Now, Rachelle Arroyave is planning her husband's funeral and studying her finances to see if she can continue to stay home and take care of the children.
"I'm going to be a single mom with three kids," she said. "I don't want to put my kids back in day care, so I'm going to try to find some way to work out of the house."
Arrangements for Arroyave are pending. A funeral is not expected to take place for another few weeks as the family awaits the arrival of the body.
Woodland Mayor Matt Rexroad said officials are working to establish a trust fund for the Arroyave family. Rexroad, also a Marine, served last year in Iraq.
"This could have happened to me, or any one of my fellow Marines over there," Rexroad said.
Rachelle Arroyave said the mood around Camp Pendleton has been tense as more families learn the tragic news of a loss of their loved ones in Iraq. But all the families on base are supportive of each other, she said.
"It's a very scary time," she said.
Brennan, 49, said she would continue to pray for her son and the remaining troops in Iraq.
"I want everybody to come safely home," she said. "I don't want any mother to go through what I'm going through now."
As Arroyave's wife, Rachelle, and mother, Carmenza Brennan, planned Jimmy's funeral Monday, they said that is the message they want people to know.
"I know in my heart he died doing what he loved to do," Rachelle Arroyave said. "He was proud to be a Marine, and he loved the military."
The Defense Department reported that Arroyave, 30, of Woodland was killed Thursday in a vehicle accident in Ramadi, Iraq.
He was serving his second mission in Iraq with the Combat Service Support Battalion 1, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which is stationed out of Camp Pendleton.
Military officials gave the Marine's family few details about his death, other than that he died in a noncombat vehicle rollover while traveling in a convoy.
Brennan, a nurse at UC Davis Medical Center, said she came home from work Thursday to find military officers waiting for her with the news of her son's death.
The Arroyaves have two daughters - 6-year-old Vanessa and 2-year-old Natalia. Rachelle is expecting the couple's third child in October.
"If it's a boy, I'll name it after his father," she said.
Jimmy Arroyave also had an 11-year-old daughter in Woodland, Katie Arroyave.
Brennan said her son was a man with a "big heart" who took good care of his mother, wife and children.
"He's my only son. And he's not only my son, he's my best friend," said a tearful Brennan as she sat in her living room before a makeshift shrine of candles, flowers and pictures of her son.
Arroyave is the second Woodland man to be killed in the U.S.-led military ventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts, a 1987 graduate of Woodland High, died in 2002 in combat in Afghanistan.
Arroyave served as a utilities technician in Iraq, helping to purify the water at the camps the Marines established. He wasn't able to call home much since his latest arrival in Iraq on March 2, but he did e-mail his wife often to tell her he loved her and the children.
"In his last e-mail, he said his Easter was OK. He asked how were the girls. He said he loved and missed us, and hopefully he would be home in October before the baby was born," Rachelle Arroyave said in a phone interview from her home at Camp Pendleton.
Arroyave also usually asked about the Kings. Last year, he was sorely disappointed when he missed the Kings' final playoff game because he was in Iraq.
"He was an avid Kings fan," Rachelle Arroyave said. "I would try to go on the Sacramento Kings Web site and update him."
Jimmy Arroyave also had a passion for U.S. national parks. The family visited the Channel Islands before he deployed, and they had hoped to visit more national parks in Arizona and New Mexico when he returned.
A 10-year veteran of the Marines, Jimmy Arroyave knew as a child that he wanted to be a soldier, his family said. Arroyave moved to Woodland about 20 years ago with his mother. He enlisted in the Marines when he was 19 years old.
His wife said he had hoped to put in at least 20 years in the service. He was vying for a job as a recruiter back in the States so he could stand a better chance of being promoted to gunnery sergeant, she said.
Born in Cali, Colombia, Arroyave is a 1992 graduate of Cache Creek High School, a continuation school in the Woodland Joint Unified School District.
Arroyave's mother said she told her son that she did not want him to join the military, but her son assured her he would be safe.
Rachelle Arroyave, a graduate of Woodland High School, said she met her husband at an athletic club in Woodland. The couple married in 1998.
They have been apart for long stretches of their marriage while Arroyave served in Japan or on other assignments. They had hoped those periods away from each other would soon come to an end if he got a position as a recruiter.
Now, Rachelle Arroyave is planning her husband's funeral and studying her finances to see if she can continue to stay home and take care of the children.
"I'm going to be a single mom with three kids," she said. "I don't want to put my kids back in day care, so I'm going to try to find some way to work out of the house."
Arrangements for Arroyave are pending. A funeral is not expected to take place for another few weeks as the family awaits the arrival of the body.
Woodland Mayor Matt Rexroad said officials are working to establish a trust fund for the Arroyave family. Rexroad, also a Marine, served last year in Iraq.
"This could have happened to me, or any one of my fellow Marines over there," Rexroad said.
Rachelle Arroyave said the mood around Camp Pendleton has been tense as more families learn the tragic news of a loss of their loved ones in Iraq. But all the families on base are supportive of each other, she said.
"It's a very scary time," she said.
Brennan, 49, said she would continue to pray for her son and the remaining troops in Iraq.
"I want everybody to come safely home," she said. "I don't want any mother to go through what I'm going through now."
If people remember only one thing about Staff Sgt. Jimmy J. Arroyave, remember that he lived and died a proud Marine.
As Arroyave's wife, Rachelle, and mother, Carmenza Brennan, planned Jimmy's funeral Monday, they said that is the message they want people to know.
"I know in my heart he died doing what he loved to do," Rachelle Arroyave said. "He was proud to be a Marine, and he loved the military."
The Defense Department reported that Arroyave, 30, of Woodland was killed Thursday in a vehicle accident in Ramadi, Iraq.
He was serving his second mission in Iraq with the Combat Service Support Battalion 1, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which is stationed out of Camp Pendleton.
Military officials gave the Marine's family few details about his death, other than that he died in a noncombat vehicle rollover while traveling in a convoy.
Brennan, a nurse at UC Davis Medical Center, said she came home from work Thursday to find military officers waiting for her with the news of her son's death.
The Arroyaves have two daughters - 6-year-old Vanessa and 2-year-old Natalia. Rachelle is expecting the couple's third child in October.
"If it's a boy, I'll name it after his father," she said.
Jimmy Arroyave also had an 11-year-old daughter in Woodland, Katie Arroyave.
Brennan said her son was a man with a "big heart" who took good care of his mother, wife and children.
"He's my only son. And he's not only my son, he's my best friend," said a tearful Brennan as she sat in her living room before a makeshift shrine of candles, flowers and pictures of her son.
Arroyave is the second Woodland man to be killed in the U.S.-led military ventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts, a 1987 graduate of Woodland High, died in 2002 in combat in Afghanistan.
Arroyave served as a utilities technician in Iraq, helping to purify the water at the camps the Marines established. He wasn't able to call home much since his latest arrival in Iraq on March 2, but he did e-mail his wife often to tell her he loved her and the children.
"In his last e-mail, he said his Easter was OK. He asked how were the girls. He said he loved and missed us, and hopefully he would be home in October before the baby was born," Rachelle Arroyave said in a phone interview from her home at Camp Pendleton.
Arroyave also usually asked about the Kings. Last year, he was sorely disappointed when he missed the Kings' final playoff game because he was in Iraq.
"He was an avid Kings fan," Rachelle Arroyave said. "I would try to go on the Sacramento Kings Web site and update him."
Jimmy Arroyave also had a passion for U.S. national parks. The family visited the Channel Islands before he deployed, and they had hoped to visit more national parks in Arizona and New Mexico when he returned.
A 10-year veteran of the Marines, Jimmy Arroyave knew as a child that he wanted to be a soldier, his family said. Arroyave moved to Woodland about 20 years ago with his mother. He enlisted in the Marines when he was 19 years old.
His wife said he had hoped to put in at least 20 years in the service. He was vying for a job as a recruiter back in the States so he could stand a better chance of being promoted to gunnery sergeant, she said.
Born in Cali, Colombia, Arroyave is a 1992 graduate of Cache Creek High School, a continuation school in the Woodland Joint Unified School District.
Arroyave's mother said she told her son that she did not want him to join the military, but her son assured her he would be safe.
Rachelle Arroyave, a graduate of Woodland High School, said she met her husband at an athletic club in Woodland. The couple married in 1998.
They have been apart for long stretches of their marriage while Arroyave served in Japan or on other assignments. They had hoped those periods away from each other would soon come to an end if he got a position as a recruiter.
Now, Rachelle Arroyave is planning her husband's funeral and studying her finances to see if she can continue to stay home and take care of the children.
"I'm going to be a single mom with three kids," she said. "I don't want to put my kids back in day care, so I'm going to try to find some way to work out of the house."
Arrangements for Arroyave are pending. A funeral is not expected to take place for another few weeks as the family awaits the arrival of the body.
Woodland Mayor Matt Rexroad said officials are working to establish a trust fund for the Arroyave family. Rexroad, also a Marine, served last year in Iraq.
"This could have happened to me, or any one of my fellow Marines over there," Rexroad said.
Rachelle Arroyave said the mood around Camp Pendleton has been tense as more families learn the tragic news of a loss of their loved ones in Iraq. But all the families on base are supportive of each other, she said.
"It's a very scary time," she said.
Brennan, 49, said she would continue to pray for her son and the remaining troops in Iraq.
"I want everybody to come safely home," she said. "I don't want any mother to go through what I'm going through now."
As Arroyave's wife, Rachelle, and mother, Carmenza Brennan, planned Jimmy's funeral Monday, they said that is the message they want people to know.
"I know in my heart he died doing what he loved to do," Rachelle Arroyave said. "He was proud to be a Marine, and he loved the military."
The Defense Department reported that Arroyave, 30, of Woodland was killed Thursday in a vehicle accident in Ramadi, Iraq.
He was serving his second mission in Iraq with the Combat Service Support Battalion 1, 1st Marine Expeditionary Force, which is stationed out of Camp Pendleton.
Military officials gave the Marine's family few details about his death, other than that he died in a noncombat vehicle rollover while traveling in a convoy.
Brennan, a nurse at UC Davis Medical Center, said she came home from work Thursday to find military officers waiting for her with the news of her son's death.
The Arroyaves have two daughters - 6-year-old Vanessa and 2-year-old Natalia. Rachelle is expecting the couple's third child in October.
"If it's a boy, I'll name it after his father," she said.
Jimmy Arroyave also had an 11-year-old daughter in Woodland, Katie Arroyave.
Brennan said her son was a man with a "big heart" who took good care of his mother, wife and children.
"He's my only son. And he's not only my son, he's my best friend," said a tearful Brennan as she sat in her living room before a makeshift shrine of candles, flowers and pictures of her son.
Arroyave is the second Woodland man to be killed in the U.S.-led military ventures in Iraq and Afghanistan. Navy SEAL Neil C. Roberts, a 1987 graduate of Woodland High, died in 2002 in combat in Afghanistan.
Arroyave served as a utilities technician in Iraq, helping to purify the water at the camps the Marines established. He wasn't able to call home much since his latest arrival in Iraq on March 2, but he did e-mail his wife often to tell her he loved her and the children.
"In his last e-mail, he said his Easter was OK. He asked how were the girls. He said he loved and missed us, and hopefully he would be home in October before the baby was born," Rachelle Arroyave said in a phone interview from her home at Camp Pendleton.
Arroyave also usually asked about the Kings. Last year, he was sorely disappointed when he missed the Kings' final playoff game because he was in Iraq.
"He was an avid Kings fan," Rachelle Arroyave said. "I would try to go on the Sacramento Kings Web site and update him."
Jimmy Arroyave also had a passion for U.S. national parks. The family visited the Channel Islands before he deployed, and they had hoped to visit more national parks in Arizona and New Mexico when he returned.
A 10-year veteran of the Marines, Jimmy Arroyave knew as a child that he wanted to be a soldier, his family said. Arroyave moved to Woodland about 20 years ago with his mother. He enlisted in the Marines when he was 19 years old.
His wife said he had hoped to put in at least 20 years in the service. He was vying for a job as a recruiter back in the States so he could stand a better chance of being promoted to gunnery sergeant, she said.
Born in Cali, Colombia, Arroyave is a 1992 graduate of Cache Creek High School, a continuation school in the Woodland Joint Unified School District.
Arroyave's mother said she told her son that she did not want him to join the military, but her son assured her he would be safe.
Rachelle Arroyave, a graduate of Woodland High School, said she met her husband at an athletic club in Woodland. The couple married in 1998.
They have been apart for long stretches of their marriage while Arroyave served in Japan or on other assignments. They had hoped those periods away from each other would soon come to an end if he got a position as a recruiter.
Now, Rachelle Arroyave is planning her husband's funeral and studying her finances to see if she can continue to stay home and take care of the children.
"I'm going to be a single mom with three kids," she said. "I don't want to put my kids back in day care, so I'm going to try to find some way to work out of the house."
Arrangements for Arroyave are pending. A funeral is not expected to take place for another few weeks as the family awaits the arrival of the body.
Woodland Mayor Matt Rexroad said officials are working to establish a trust fund for the Arroyave family. Rexroad, also a Marine, served last year in Iraq.
"This could have happened to me, or any one of my fellow Marines over there," Rexroad said.
Rachelle Arroyave said the mood around Camp Pendleton has been tense as more families learn the tragic news of a loss of their loved ones in Iraq. But all the families on base are supportive of each other, she said.
"It's a very scary time," she said.
Brennan, 49, said she would continue to pray for her son and the remaining troops in Iraq.
"I want everybody to come safely home," she said. "I don't want any mother to go through what I'm going through now."
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