It is with a heavy heart that we announce the passing of the life and joy of our beloved family; Matthew Santos Luera.

Matthew was born on April 5, 2001 to his parents Mr. & Mrs. Jesse D. Luera. Matthew was the second baby born to his mother that day. He was known in the hospital as baby B.  Matthew Luera was a twin brother to his sister; Jessica Marie Luera.

It was in those early days that hospital personnel delivered the news that Matthew had Down Syndrome.  Having a son with special needs was as if living in a whole different world but it was a beautiful place where childhood never ends. Matthew was our reason for living the Disney life. We loved taking him to all those Disney trips that now, as we look back, we will always cherish in our hearts forever.  Our house is known as the Disney house because of our holiday decorations that we would lay out in the front yard for our son to see and enjoy.  Matthew's favorite movies were: Mulan, Pocahontas, any of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies, all the superhero Marvel movies, and sadly Pinocchio, because he said "he wanted to be a real boy like Pinocchio did".

Matthew attended James Madison High School and graduated from their life skills program.

Matthew is survived by his parents Mr. Jesse Luera and Mrs. Mary Ramos Luera, and his twin sister, Jessica Marie Luera. He is also survived by: his maternal grandmother, Mrs. Mary Rangel Ramos; three sets of maternal aunts & uncles, Mr. & Mrs. Santos Matthew Ramos; Mr. & Mrs. Santos Michael Ramos; Mr. & Mrs. John Pachecano, and his paternal aunt and uncle Mr. & Mrs. Raul Santoya.

Matthew also shared a special bond with his special needs uncle - Julian Ramos, who even though he is totally incapacitated, was able to teach him as a small child to never be afraid of people confined to wheel chairs. In fact, in Kindergarten, Matthew immediately pulled his chair right up to a classmate who used a wheelchair and was eager to become her friend.

Matthew is also survived by numerous close cousins who have watched him grow over the years.

They are listed as they were known by Matthew; Baby Raul Ramos, Baby Memo Ramos, The Baby (princess), Baby Santos Ramos, Allegra Ramos, Elsa Santoya, and Manny Santoya.

Matthew leaves behind his loving pets, Chloe, Winston, Brownie, Bella, Foxy, & Mulan aka "his baby" who continues to look for him here at home.

The Luera family would like to thank Amanda Kelly for being one of Matthew's special caregivers in his last years. Her sweet gesture and effort in painting his room with his favorite Marvel characters will always be a treasured reminder of him.

At this time we cannot forget the special friends Matthew had in his short life. His school friend RJ, who never forgets Matthew's birthday.

His special girlfriend, Talia. Natalia was part of Matthew's and his sister's Quinceañera. He always thought of her as one of his girlfriends. I will always remember her calling Matthew one last time to tell him she loved him.  A special thank you to Ramon for being there as a friend to Jessica. Then seeing how she was a twin, befriended Matthew.  Thank you for being there at the end and holding our hands.

We must also give a big shout out of thanks to the Down Syndrome Association of South Texas in San Antonio.  This organization was beneficial in providing support and education during Matthew's early years. We will always remember doing the buddy walks especially those years when Mary was still teaching and included her students in the walks.

At this time we would like to thank everyone for their thoughts and prayers while Matthew laid ill in the hospital.  Please bear with us as we continue our days wondering who we are and where we are because our family loss it's Thor.

Visitation will begin on Wednesday, May 28th at 5:00pm with a Rosary to be recited at 7:00pm at the Angelus Chapel, 1119 N. St. Mary's Street, San Antonio, TX 78215.  Funeral Mass will be offered on Thursday, May 29th at 10:00am at St. Margaret Mary Catholic Church, 1314 Fair Avenue, San Antonio, TX 78223. Interment will follow in San Fernando Archdiocesan Cemetery # 2, 746 Castroville Road, San Antonio, TX 78237.  A reception will be held at the church hall following the graveside services.