Natalie Valdez remembers telling her 29-year-old brother, Rhyen Valdez, “I love you, byeee,” on the night of May 14. 

Rhyen was set to graduate from Fresno State with a degree in history the following day, but he died in his sleep hours after speaking with his sister. 

For Natalie, their final phone call was like any other.

“That was my last, ‘I love you, byeee,’ because that’s what he would always say to all of us after we hung up the phone,” Natalie said. 

Since Rhyen’s death last week, plans are already underway with the City of Fresno to designate May 6, his birthday, as a day in his honor and to rename the Fresno State Veterans Resource Center after him.

The Valdez family is choosing not to release further information on Rhyen’s unexpected death, other than that he died peacefully.

Countless campus organizations, including Alpha Sigma Phi, the Fresno State Rugby Club, the Fresno State Student Veterans Organization (SVO), the Fresno State Esports Club and the Fresno State Taekwondo Club, have shared posts honoring Rhyen’s involvement in their respective groups. 

Associated Students, Inc. (ASI) Operations Manager Frederick Lisitsa has been spearheading the plans with Fresno State and the City of Fresno to name the day and center after Rhyen.

“He didn’t even understand sarcasm — that’s how honest he was,” Lisitsa said. 

The two knew each other through their shared participation in campus organizations, including the SVO. Lisitsa recalled a conversation he shared with Rhyen when Lisitsa first joined ASI.

“I remember I was telling him about all the stuff I was involved in, and he was like ‘That’s so cool,’” Lisitsa said. “He was like, ‘I just want to belong, I just want to get involved in stuff and belong in places.’”

Lisitsa said he told Rhyen to go ahead and join anything he desired. And Rhyen did, later becoming known for his unwavering dedication to Fresno State campus life.

“I didn’t think about that conversation much, and now, in hindsight of this last week, I see that he went for it 100%,” Lisitsa said. 

Who was Rhyen Valdez?

Rhyen grew up in Selma, the middle child, with Natalie as his younger sister and Jennifer as his oldest. 

“He was a little light-complexioned, blue-eyed, light-brown-haired [kid],” Jennifer said. “He had circular-type glasses that looked like Harry Potter, and he actually was Harry Potter for Halloween.”

Jennifer said she was the “protective older sister” and made sure Rhyen was always looked after.

When Natalie was born, Rhyen went from being protected to doing the protecting. Natalie said he took on the role naturally, eventually learning her quirks and exactly how to get through to her.

“When I was going through hardship, that’s who I would talk to about everything,” Natalie said.

From the time Rhyen was in elementary school, he knew he wanted to go into the military. Natalie said that, at first, his family had some apprehensions about the idea, because they wanted him to go to college.

Rhyen joined the ROTC at Selma High School before eventually joining the United States Army, serving as a 19D Cavalry Scout and earning the rank of a non-commissioned officer. In this role, Rhyen became an “enlisted leader” and, from this vast experience, secured the position of Sergeant.

Later, as his mother wished, Rhyen attended college and became a Bulldog.

At Fresno State, Rhyen studied history, a passion that Natalie said originated in high school.

“When he got into high school, he had a teacher named Mr. Tankersley, and he really opened his eyes about history,” Natalie said.

Juggling his many responsibilities, Rhyen also began playing rugby at Fresno State and served as the treasurer of the Rugby Club. 

After graduating, Rhyen had plans of becoming a high school history teacher and was already an after-school program instructor for younger kids.

A friend, a brother, an uncle

In his fraternity, Alpha Sigma Phi, Rhyen created bonds everywhere, including with his “big,” Joseph Romias. The two, Romias said, connected when Rhyen encouraged him to get more involved.

“He really just has a very infectious positivity,” Romias said. “It’s very welcoming and you kind of just want to be around it.”

Romias described Rhyen as a “jolly giant,” a sentiment also shared by both of Rhyen’s sisters.

Another word Romias used was selfless — something he hopes students will remember when they think of Rhyen.

“I mean, he was a veteran,” Romias said. “He gave up a lot of his young adult years to serve the country. And he was always someone that you could rely on, too.”

Rhyen wasn’t just a friend and a brother — he was also an uncle to Jennifer’s children. She said he was always joking around and playing with them.

“He was very protective as well,” Jennifer said. “He and my husband were always saying they’re gonna do that bad boy scene when my daughter’s first date comes and picks her up.”

Lisitsa said his proposal to designate May 6 as Rhyen’s commemorative day will be presented at a Fresno City Council meeting in July, and he still has to jump through some hoops to rename the Veterans Resource Center.

In the meantime, however, Lisitsa is working to implement a tangible memorial, like a plaque and portrait, in the center for more immediate recognition. He also hopes to plant a tree with a plaque in Rhyen’s honor.

“Even if you knew him for five minutes, you got to know Rhyen, ‘cause that was him,” Jennifer said. “That was always him. He was never, never anybody else.”

After raising nearly $22,000 so far through a GoFundMe campaign to cover funeral expenses, the Valdez family invited the Fresno community to attend Rhyen’s services. 

The viewing will be held on June 4 at Dopkins Funeral Chapel in Dinuba from 4-8 p.m., and his funeral service will be on June 5 at St. Joseph Catholic Church at 9 a.m., followed by the burial at the Selma Cemetery and a luncheon afterward.