Roberto Jose Rivera

If you had asked Roberto Jose Rivera's sister when she was twelve years old, what she thought her younger brother would grow up to become, she would have said "an inventor." The Rube Goldberg-like devices he set up in his room to turn the light on in the morning, as well as his booby traps, fascinated her. His love for his pet cat, Kitty, would have led the nine-year-old Roberto to answer "zookeeper" to the same question.

Roberto, age 33, passed away on July 2, 2009. Born in Washington, D.C. on June 23, 1976, Roberto graduated from Carroll High School in Ozark, Alabama. He went on to receive his B.A. degree from The University of Texas at Austin as an RTF major with a concentration in film. While there, he served as a photographer for The Daily Texan. Following his undergraduate education, Roberto received his Doctorate in Medicine from the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston and later did his residency work in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Adored by his friends and family, Roberto was a beloved, brilliant, handsome, creative, quick-witted, gentle young man. An avid tennis player, a talented photographer, a karaoke crooner, an amazing writer, and so much more, Roberto honed his vocal talents playing the lead part in many Carroll High School musicals including the part of Ali Hakim, the Persian peddler, in Oklahoma and Sky Masterson in Guys and Dolls. He'd prefer that the bit part of "Pepe" in West Side Story not be left out.

He is survived by his sister and "ol buddy," Maria "Pili", his mother, Pilar, and father, Luis.

In lieu of flowers, memorial contributions may be made to The National Alliance on Mental Illness: www.nami.org.