Obituary of ANTHONY WILLIAM KAESTLE RESENDES

ANTHONY WILLIAM KAESTLE RESENDES November 27th 1991 - October 1st 2020 Surrounded by family, Tony Resendes came to the clearing at the end of the path on the evening of October 1st 2020 at the age of 28, after a 16 month battle with an aggressive form of brain cancer, glioblastoma. Left to remember Tony is the love of his life and partner in life, Ashleigh, his parents Gabriel and Patti; Ashleigh’s parents Andy and Audrey; Tony’s siblings Chantal, Joshua (Chemi) and Michael; Ashleigh’s siblings, Rhiannon and Ben; both sets of Tony’s grandparents; His aunt and uncles, and his nephew Carmine and niece Oaklyn. Tony attended Christ the King elementary school then St. Maurice for junior high and high school. There he met his second half Ashleigh, and together they were both the youngest and tallest in their grade. Their shared height and love of classic rock and metal drew them together and their sense of adventure and fun kept them together for 10 years. Tony and Ashleigh are the definition of true, authentic love and are an example to all who survive him. In 2012 Tony took a job at Domo where he became a manager of multiple stores. He was then promoted to supervisor before the incidental discovery of the first tumour. Domo became a second family to Tony and he could not go to a store while doing his supervising rounds without being stopped to chat by coworkers and customers alike. Everyone Tony met loved him, even disgruntled customers came back to apologize. A particular part of Tony's identity was music. He taught himself bass and would make the house pulse with its deep rhythmic declarations. His love of music and presence on stage lead him into a few bands he would travel the province with playing metal shows, sometimes for no more then a case of beer. Tony's favourite band was Anthrax, as well as D.R.I. both of which he and Ashleigh were fortunate enough to see live. He taught Ashleigh to love Judas Priest and she taught him to love Alice Cooper who they saw together more than half a dozen times. They would always go in full Alice garb and paint and got countless free drinks and pictures taken as a result of their obvious passion and enthusiasm. Any excuse to dress up was taken advantage of and was just another example of Tony's creativity and love of life. Since childhood Tony was an outdoorsman. He enjoyed fishing for hours, or just walking, looking for frogs and snakes, and his favourite thing to do aside from metal shows was having bonfires. He would always be the first to gather wood or tend the fire and would split everything right down the middle with anyone he cared for. A more unselfish man there was not. Tony would always tell Ashleigh how he wanted to take her to the Rockies and this August that was finally realized along with his parents and brother and sister. The memories made in those mountains will be held sacred forever. One of the first things that come to mind when thinking of Tony is his wicked sense of humour. The sharpness of his wit got him sent to the office probably more than anyone else but he was one student all teachers remember fondly. He would never shut his mouth for anyone if he had something to say and taught us all how important humour is every day of our lives. People were naturally drawn to him even though he was not the type to try to be the center of attention, and was not a fan of crowds. His huge heart made it second nature to help anyone around him that needed it, especially the outcasts. He was also gifted with amazing creativity. Tony loved to be unique, and to create things on his own, to do things differently than everyone else. He enjoyed making and painting his own War Hammer figurines which he often used to compete in tournaments. He would often win the most creative, or best designed pieces at those tournaments. Tony also expressed his creativity while wrapping Christmas gifts which were hidden in layers of super glued jars, duct-taped boxes, and string wrapped packages. The dedication he had to even the smallest things was outstanding and hard to miss. Tony loved life. His life is a reminder to enjoy the moment, and a good cold beer with it. He enjoyed life with the true heart he had. Thank you, Tony, for blessing our lives for the last 28 years. We would like to sincerely thank all the doctors, nurses, lab technicians and volunteers who cared for Tony throughout his cancer journey. We would particularly like to thank Dr. Marshall Pitz, Kathy Klapp, Dr. Kakumanu, Ian Scott and all at Cancer Care who helped Tony in so many ways. We also wish to thank the Palliative Care team who aided in providing Tony comfort in his final weeks. We especially wish to thank Sophie, Yohannes, and all the aides that came and visited Tony from Palliative Care. We also wish to extend our gratitude to The Never Alone Foundation, for their immense support throughout the last 16 months. A word of gratitude to Domo, for everything they have done to assist Tony and our family throughout the last while. Finally, a word of thanks to all who helped our family go to Alberta/BC this Summer, especially Birchwood Automotive group and the staff at St. Alphonsus school who helped us in many ways. A private funeral and burial service with the family has taken place. Tony has been buried at the Fort Garry Cemetery on Crescent Drive. Due to the COVID-19 measures, unfortunately, only a small number were allowed to attend in person. A special thanks to Tyson from Cropo Funeral Chapel for assisting us in these preparations. In lieu of flowers, you may make a donation to the CancerCare Manitoba Foundation. If you so wish, please choose “One-time Payment” and specify that your donation go to “Brain Tumour Research by Dr.Marshall Pitz. In memory of Tony Resendes” or you can donate to the Never Alone Foundation. Ves’ ka gan, the song will go on “You are loved all the way to the moon and stars and all the way back.”