As they begin to work through the pain that comes from losing a loved one, Kenneth Valdez’s family is grateful for the memories and condolences that the community has shared with them.

Valdez died Thursday at his home in Hermiston, shot during a murder-suicide that claimed three lives and injured a fourth person. His brothers Daniel Diaz of Hermiston and Tony Valdez of Kennewick said their family has since found solace in reading the messages friends of their brother Kenny have posted to his Facebook page or sent to them directly.

“Social media has been fantastic,” Tony said.

The grief and shock still feel raw days later, but Tony said he has started reaching out to some of Kenneth’s friends and the family hopes to talk to more during the candlelight vigil scheduled for Wednesday night and at the memorial service Saturday.

“People have been good about letting us grieve, but our family is definitely to the point we would like to see some of his friends, maybe hear some memories we didn’t know about,” he said.

Tony said Kenneth was the type to “try anything at least once,” and had so many different interests outside of work that it was hard to keep track of them all. A few included wrestling, horseback riding, four-wheeling and other outdoor sports.

“Even now, talking to his friends, I say, ‘Really, he liked to do that?’” he said.

Kenneth wrestled for Hermiston High School as a teenager and returned to the school in 2013 as a volunteer wrestling coach. His brothers said he was proud of the kids he coached and would talk about their successes to the rest of the family.

“He worked nights, and he would go straight out of work to go to tournaments without sleep,” Diaz said.

Kenneth grew up in Zillah, Washington, until his family moved to Hermiston partway through high school. He was the second of four boys and is survived by his brothers, his mother and his three children.

He attended Blue Mountain Community College, and Tony said later his brother found a “home” at UPS, where he worked in various positions — including package delivery and in the warehouse — for 20 years. He said it has meant a lot to him to hear from people at UPS and elsewhere how many lives in the community his brother touched.

“He was genuine,” Tony said. “If you talked to his friends, they would say Kenny would be there in a pinch.”

A celebration of life will be Saturday, August 27 at 2 p.m. at the New Hope Community Church, 1350 S Hwy 395, Hermiston, with a potluck gathering to follow in the fellowship center. Tony said anyone who wanted to come pay their respects was welcome, and people who were anxious to help the family in some way could contact New Hope about helping cook, set up or clean up.

He also said that if people wanted to make donations to the family to help cover the cost of funeral services, the best method would be through an account set up in Kenneth Valdez’s name at Columbia Bank.

A candlelight vigil for all those affected by the tragedy will be Wednesday night at 8:30 p.m. at McKenzie Park in Hermiston. Participants are asked to bring candles, glow sticks or other small lights.

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Contact Jade McDowell at jmcdowell@eastoregonian.com or 541-564-4536.