Brian Hernandez remembered how much his father liked to laugh. A good cook, Jorge Jimenez always invited friends over to eat. He would cook traditional Spanish dishes with rice, he’d dance on the patio and laugh. In the summer, he’d roam the sidewalk on Richmond Avenue, where he used to live, and take part in community cookouts. He was the “life of the party,” Hernandez, 19, said.

Jimenez, of the 100 block of Dablon Court, died after he was struck by head coach Jim Boeheim driving along Interstate 690 on Wednesday night. Jimenez was transported to Upstate University Hospital following the crash and was pronounced dead while there. He was 51.

Joel Sanchez, a Syracuse resident who said he knew Jimenez for 20 years, remembered working with Jimenez at Colonial Laundromat, along the 1600 block of West Genesee Street, in 2003. Sanchez translated for Jimenez at doctor’s appointments or official meetings, Sanchez said. In return, Jimenez would do handiwork for Sanchez and didn’t take any payment in return.

Jorge Jimenez was known for his cooking by neighbors. He would occasionally cook at community barbecues. Courtesy of Brian Hernandez

Jimenez, who emigrated from Cuba decades ago, was a New York Yankees fan. His favorite player was Derek Jeter. He loved baseball and played often with his kids. Hernandez said his father always had a coaches mentality and, from the sideline, looked to help Hernandez improve at baseball. When Hernandez struggled with his swing, Jimenez helped him fix it. It was just his personality — who he was.

“He always made sure you were OK,” his former neighbor Alfredo Cordero said. “I’ll remember that about him.”

Jimenez cooked for his neighbors “by surprise” when he previously lived on Richmond Avenue, Cordero said. He would cook Cuban cuisine, and offer help to people next door often.

Jorge Jimenez spent time outside the corner of Geddes Deli & Grocery when he lived on Richmond Avenue. KJ Edelman | Asst. Sports Editor

At Geddes Deli & Grocery, Jimenez would spend most of time hanging outside of the store and a nearby smoke shop. Occasionally, the corner of Richmond and North Genesee would host barbecues and Jiminez would “just walk like 10 steps outside his house, have fun, and go back home,” said Louis Pizarro, a resident who’s frequently near Geddes. Sometimes he would cook, other times he would eat ribs, Cordero said.

“You see a 50-year-old man hanging with 18-19 kids and he’s out there dancing with them,” Ali Bakil, a neighborhood friend of Jimenez, said. “It makes him funny.”

On the weekends he’d drink beer — typically Modelo — with friends and have picnics. He often brought coffee to Dhaya Alabi, the owner of Geddes, from a local gas station before shopping.

Previously, Jimenez worked as a painter and mechanic — most recently, he was out of work, friends said. He was on disability benefits due to a foot condition. He was not working at the time of his death, Hernandez and Sanchez said.

About a year ago, Jimenez moved from his second-floor apartment on Richmond Avenue to Dablon Court, friends said. Sanchez, who last spoke with Jimenez a month ago, said that Jimenez was often alone in his new apartment.

“This surprised me at the beginning, it does hurt,” Sanchez said of Jimenez’s death. “A person that came here for a better life for him and his kids, and this kind of stuff happens.”

Jimenez is survived by four children. Funeral arrangements have not yet been made, but Hernandez started a GoFundMe page to help aid in the cost of the arrangements.

Hernandez said the family wishes that the funeral be held in Syracuse, where they will have an open-casket wake before cremating Jimenez. The GoFundMe was started with a $15,000 goal. Hernandez said that is what’s needed to proceed with the arrangements. The GoFundMe campaign can be found here.

Published on February 22, 2019 at 8:08 pm

Contact Nick: nialvare@syr.edu | @nick_a_alvarez