Brothers killed in Esparto fireworks explosion buried together. Family honors them
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- Jesus and Jhony Ramos were buried together after dying in a fireworks explosion.
- Family and friends honored the brothers with Niners gear, art and shared memories.
- A horse-drawn carriage and car procession marked the final farewell in Daly City.
Born just four years apart, Jesus and Jhony Ramos moved through life as one.
They played on the same youth sports teams. They got in trouble with the same middle school teachers. Even their smiles matched — the kind that lit up rooms and never seemed to fade.
On Monday afternoon, their family made sure that connection would be preserved, even in death. The brothers were buried in a single grave, their white caskets stacked gently atop each other.
“They had the bond that everybody really wished for,” said their younger sister Jhanelly. “I’m thankful they were at least able to go together.”
The burial marked the end of a two-day farewell filled with tears, laughter and sports gear. Four weeks earlier, their lives were cut short in a fireworks explosion near the rural community of Esparto that killed them and five others. The cause of the July 1 inferno remains unknown.
Their sendoff began with a wake Sunday night at the Duggan’s Serra Mortuary in Daly City. Many family and friends wore 49ers jerseys in tribute to the brothers’ shared passion for their hometown team.
At the front of the chapel, the remains of the two men rested in white caskets surrounded by red roses. The caskets, kept closed, featured drawings and a photograph of each young man. Jhony’s drawing included his beloved gray Chrysler 300. For Jesus, the family added art of the young man painting his nickname “Chue.”
Above the caskets, a looping slideshow displayed videos and photographs spanning the two men’s lives. One video from Jhanelly’s quinceañera showed both boys sharing a laughter filled dance with her. In another taken months ago, Jesus beamed as he held a sonogram of his unborn baby.
The Ramos brothers were rarely seen without smiles, family and friends recalled.
Jesus, especially, had a grin that reminded his loved ones of Mickey Mouse. No smile was brighter than the one he wore after learning of his upcoming fatherhood. He was certain the baby would be a boy, said his pregnant girlfriend, Syanna Ruiz.
“He was so excited to be a dad,” Ruiz said. “He’d tell me, ‘My son is going to know who I was. My son is going to know his father’s legacy.’”
Jhanelly, the youngest of five close-knit siblings, remembered her two older brothers as a pair seeking to “conquer the world.”
Jhony, better known as Junior, was a child “always up to something,” she recalled. He enjoyed basketball and played offensive lineman on a Pop Warner team called the Daly City Titans. His nickname was “the tank” because of his ferocious blocking.
Jhony, 22, grew fond of fishing, cooking and cars — particularly his Chrysler 300. Most of all, he loved his “black damn beanies.”
“He once told me it was him and his beanies against the world,” Jhanelly said.
Like his brother, Jesus, 18, played sports throughout his childhood. But he found his true calling in art. He was talented, impressing friends and teachers with his drawing, painting and graffiti skills.
Jesus graduated from high school last month. He had dreams of becoming a famous artist and moving to Los Angeles.
“Boy, I was so proud of him,” Jhanelly said.
Jeff Steeno, a middle school teacher for both boys at Buena Vista Horace Mann K-8 School in San Francisco, described them “as different as could be” despite coming from the same family. The brothers continued the family’s legacy at Buena Vista, attending after their older brother Ernesto and before Jhanelly.
Jesus was a mischievous boy with a “huge smile” who spent much of his time at school outside of the classroom. In one instance, Steeno found Jesus on the roof.
Jhony wasn’t the best student, either. But he enjoyed taking life at a slower pace and could often be the voice of reason. The type of boy to resolve fights at school, Steeno said.
“They were really challenging,” Steeno said. “They were tough. But as human beings, they were perfect.”
Outside the funeral home Sunday evening, dozens of Ramos’ friends gathered to enjoy refreshments and recall their favorite memories. Many carried necklaces that featured a photograph of the two brothers together and the words “Rest In Paradise Jesus & JR.” Others dressed themselves in sweaters and T-shirts with images of the young men.
One group, who had known Jesus since kindergarten, reminisced on memories of sleepovers, hourslong gaming sessions on PlayStation and soccer games. There was also that time Jesus used a tortilla with whipped cream to slap a friend.
“Memories that never leave my mind,” said Ethan Munguia, 17. “I wish he was here, and I wish we could have more sleepovers.”
Many of those same friends returned the next day to pay their respects to the brothers. A horse-drawn carriage carrying Jesus’ casket led the way from the funeral home to the Woodlake Memorial Park. A procession of nearly 100 cars followed.
Some drivers, in homage to Jhony’s love of sideshows, made sure to perform a few burn-outs and donuts. Others waved Niners gear outside the passenger side windows.
When it came time for the final goodbye at the burial site, mother Marisol Hernandez stood near the caskets with tears swelling her eyes. As each box was lowered into the ground, she yelled out in agony.
“I love you, my little ones.”
This story was originally published July 29, 2025 at 5:00 AM.
