In loving memory
Javon's Story
Javon Quezaire Whiteside-Lopez was our oldest son — born, raised, and lost in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He was 18 years old when he was taken from us on July 17, 2012. This farm is our answer.
Yellow blooms in the high desert. Even in the harshest ground, beauty finds a way to grow.
"His name means something. Every seed we plant carries it forward."
— Jaclynne Lopez, Founder
His name means something.
Javon Quezaire Whiteside-Lopez was born on October 26, 1993 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Javon is our oldest son — funny, bold, and full of life — and he is loved. Always. He was the kind of person who lit up a room — the kind of son you never stop being proud of.
On July 17, 2012, Javon was shot and killed by someone he thought was a friend. He was 18 years old. His murder went unsolved for 10 years.
When the killer was finally convicted, it didn't bring Javon back. But it confirmed what we already knew: his life mattered — and so does how we respond to losing him.
Javon Quezaire Whiteside-Lopez
October 26, 1993 – July 17, 2012 · Age 18
A life in pictures.
From baby photos to graduation day — every picture of Javon we have, all in one place.
Javon — forever in our hearts.
He is our angel. His wings remind us that love never dies — it just takes a different form.
Our angel. Javon Quezaire Whiteside-Lopez — October 26, 1993 – July 17, 2012. Forever in our hearts.
“His name means something. Every seed we plant carries it forward.”
— Jaclynne Lopez, Founder
Javon's selfie of his first tattoo — 'Family First' on his forearm. That says everything about who he was.
Edwin and Javon. A father and his son. This moment lives forever.
Juanita, Javon, Desmond and Destiny
Javon with his cousins Erica and Mario. Family from the very beginning.
Javon is carried by so much love. Juanita (Nita), his birth mom, and Jaclynne—his bonus mom—standing together in legacy.
Baby Javon. From the very beginning, he was loved.
Have a photo or memory of Javon you'd like to share? Share it with the family ↓
Grief taught us that love has to keep producing. It can't just sit in memory — it has to grow something. That's why we left Milwaukee and came to Arizona's high desert. That's why we farm.
"The streets aren't the only way to eat."
— The Lopez Family
The streets aren't the only way to eat.
That phrase is at the heart of everything we do. Milwaukee is where we're from — and we carry that city, its lessons, and its losses with us every day. We're teaching young people that there are other paths — paths that lead to ownership, stewardship, and purpose. Paths that don't end the way Javon's did.
Out here in the Arizona high desert, we're growing food, raising poultry, and teaching young people real skills: gardening, entrepreneurship, animal care, water systems, solar energy, and the discipline it takes to build something from nothing.
Every seed planted carries his name. Every chick raised carries his purpose. Every young person who learns a new skill on this farm is walking the path Javon never got to walk — and that's exactly why this matters.
His legacy grows every season.
Today, Javon's name lives in 35+ crop varieties growing in the Arizona high desert. In five chicks being raised with love. In young people learning skills that change trajectories. In a family from Milwaukee that chose to build instead of break.