More than one hundred people came out Saturday to celebrate the life of Sebastien “Bash” Kole Gallegos, who died two years ago in a car crash. Although Gallegos died, his legacy continues on through his family and a large community who recognized his love for life and his compassionate spirit.
The Gallegos family, with the support of Molly Morales, a close family friend, hosted a community memorial at Central Park on Saturday afternoon. Family, friends, community members and people who did not know Gallegos personally but heard about his story came to honor him with a day of joy and sorrow.
“I would never change a thing about the depth of love that we have for Sebastien,” said Sebastian’s mother Kim Gallegos. “Look around, deep grief brought total strangers to courageously have conversations with other people because they saw ‘Bash’ on a shirt or a sticker on a car.”
Kim added the Bash logo sparked a curiosity and an interest whenever it’s seen, and often it creates a dialogue where there never would have been one.
“For you all, please don’t ever stop sharing those stories with us,” Kim said.
Sebastien grew up in the Santa Clarita Valley, attended West Ranch High School and graduated in 2019.
Christian Logerot, who knew Sebastien for seven years, said he was one of his best friends.
“If he had your back, he definitely had your back,” Logerot said. “He was the best friend you could ever ask for. He was always ready to have fun and he would never say no anything.”
He added, including himself, there are a lot of people who love and miss Sebastien.
“I hope you’re proud of the people that you’re looking out for and that we make sure they’re doing you right. I hope you continue to look over everybody,” Logerot said.
Most people who knew Sebastien can attest he was an athlete as he played nearly every sport imaginable and he had dreams of playing college football, according to Morales.
Morales had been a softball coach with Sebastien’s father Alex for a couple years and her eldest daughter joined the SoCal Bash organization, a not-for-profit the Gallegos family started two days after they lost their son.
The organization allows girls ages 10 to 17 to play and compete in softball outside their schools. They also fund scholarships for aspiring athletes.
“My husband couldn’t function, but the place that he functions best is on the softball field,” Kim said. “It’s just grown like overnight. We started with one team and then we ended up with five teams in a year.”
Morales helps coach one of the organization’s teams, too. She said she reached out to Kim and Alex asking to help plan a memorial for Sebastien.
“Since the day fell on a Saturday, we originally wanted to host a (softball) tournament, but then we decided to make it a fun day to invite the community, friends, family and everybody to be together,” Morales.
Kim said support from the community, the softball teams and everybody has been amazing and sometimes moves her to tears.
“When he died, he was in the hospital and we filled up the entire hospital,” Kim said. “People came out of nowhere to see if this could really be true. It started at the hospital and then people came to our home that night and for the whole month of December.”
Earlier this year, the girls’ softball teams raised funds for the celebration of life, Morales said.
The Gallegos family had a popcorn machine, cotton candy, face painting, a softball and wiffleball game going on. They released 222 red balloons into the sky in Sebastien’s memory toward the end of the memorial.
Kim said they released 222 red balloons at 2:22 p.m. because red was Sebastien’s favorite color. Sebastien also struggled to say the word “balloon” when was younger, which became a family running joke.
Sebastien took his final breathe at 2:22 p.m., Kim said.
“It’s been two years too long. Bash, I love you, baby boy. We miss you perhaps more than words will ever adequately say, and we can’t wait to see you again someday,” Kim said. “Until then, we hope we make you proud. Please, wear a smile and remember Bash because I know he would be most happy being here with all of you.”
