Remembering Gabriella

By Cecilio Torres Jr & Isabel Torres, Co-Founders

November 7, 2026

Today we remember our daughter, Gabriella.

On a Saturday morning, November 7, 2015, our youngest daughter, Gabriella, passed away after her fight with DIPG. She was six years old. This year, November 7 falls on a Saturday again, and we feel that.

Gabriella came into our family in the fall of 2009, born on October 30. Her name means "God is my strength." Looking back, it fit her in ways we could not have known then. She was unafraid, brave and daring in everything she did, and she carried that courage through every step of her journey.

She was diagnosed at five years old, in March 2015. In the months that followed, she went through radiation and treatment, learned to walk again, spent a summer that included her Make-A-Wish trip, started kindergarten, and celebrated her sixth birthday with a Frozen Christmas party. Those days were hard, and they were also full of her. Through all of it, her smile remained.

That smile is why this Foundation carries her name. Every family we walk alongside, every child we celebrate, every resource we share comes back to her. Gabriella's Smile Foundation is one of the ways we keep saying her name out loud.

Grief does not follow a calendar, but anniversaries have a way of bringing everything close again. Some years this day feels heavy. Some years it feels tender. Most years it is both. We have learned to let it be what it is.

We still look for her. Every time we see a rainbow in the sky, we remember her, and we smile.

To the families in our community who are missing a child today, or any day: we are thinking of you. You are not alone, and your child is not forgotten. We hold your children's names alongside Gabriella's.

And to everyone who has loved our girl, prayed for our family, or helped this Foundation grow: thank you. You help keep her smile alive.

We love you, Gabriella. We miss you every day.

With love,

Cecilio & Isabel

Se habla español.