Memorial Service at Chatsworth School Recalls Life of Boy, 8

Diego Ricardo Baza, a third-grader at St. John Eudes School in Chatsworth who suffered from a rare heart condition, was remembered Wednesday during a campus memorial service.

Diego died Sunday from complications associated with primary pulmonary hypertension, a disorder caused by above-normal blood pressure in the pulmonary artery, which carries blood from the heart to the lungs. He was 8.

About 500 mourners, including many of the school’s 260 students, gathered Wednesday morning at St. John Eudes Roman Catholic Church to celebrate Diego’s life. Interment followed at Oakwood Memorial Park in Chatsworth.

Father Robert McNamara, pastor of St. John Eudes, remembered Diego not only as a youngster who loved video games and joke books, but as a boy of deep faith who understood suffering and sacrifice.

McNamara recalled Diego’s last visit to campus on March 16 for a jump rope event held in his honor to raise money for the American Heart Assn.

“He was hurting that day. He was on medication. But was he whining?” McNamara asked. “He knew about sacrifice and hurting and he accepted it.”

Diego enjoyed simple pleasures--going to the beach, watching cartoons, drinking Gatorade and eating sushi, family members said.

Still, they said, he understood life’s larger lessons--accepting help from family, friends and strangers, being kind to others and enjoying silent moments.

The funeral service marked the end of Diego’s brave, lifelong battle with a congenital heart defect.

When the resulting condition was diagnosed four years ago, doctors said the boy would probably live for only a month.

With a potent combination of medications, however, his health improved and he was able to attend school from kindergarten through the first weeks of third grade.

He also celebrated his first Holy Communion.

In recent months, however, Diego’s health faltered. He was released from the hospital in December and received hospice care at home.

Diego is survived by his parents, Rick Baza and Sandra De La Riva; his brother, Jesse, 6; and other relatives.