John started working at McDonald's at age 15 to help support his family,

and was recently made the manager of a check cashing store.

He purchased his first home this spring

so that his mother could live there too.

He loved to escape to the beach, though his best friend

called him a big Teddy bear who was happy when everyone depended on him.

Stanley Almodovar III, 23 years old.

Stanley was a pharmaceutical technician

who kidded that the drug life chose me.

He always loved to change his hair color and style

almost as much as he loved flirting with the camera.

He once proclaimed yes, I wear makeup, and I'm still a man about it.

Deonka Deidra Drayton, 32.

DD was an employee of the Pulse nightclub

who had overcome struggles like a long ago car accident

and a more recent about with drugs.

She resumed attending church and writing poetry.

Luis Daniel Conde, 39 years old.

Luis shared much with his partner in love and business, Juan Pablo Rivera Velazquez.

They even went to the same Puerto Rican high school.

At their salon, shy and affectionate Juan Pablo created hairstyles,

while gregarious Luis touched up clients' make up

and turned up the techno music.

Juan Pablo Rivera Velazquez, 37 years old.

Juan owned a hair salon together with his partner, Luis Daniel Conde.

The salon had a loyal client base

and occasionally offered free services

to victims of domestic abuse.

He and Luis were together for 16 years,

and died together at the club.

Javier Jorge-Reyes, 40 years old.

Javier loved selling the latest fashions and accessories at Gucci,

and the company has arranged for his body

to be sent back to Puerto Rico.

He playfully reimagined his name on Facebook as Harvey George Kings,

and his pregnant friend recalled how he had an uncanny knack for making her baby kick.

Shane Evan Tomlinson, 33 years old.

Shane wowed crowds as the lead singer of a cover band called Frequency.

He posted on Facebook about his own anxiety after another performer,

Christina Grimmie of The Voice, was gunned down in Orlando the night before.

Luis Daniel Wilson-Leon, 37.

Danny liked to wear black and grow his sideburns long in his small town in Puerto Rico.

He encountered many bullies and moved to Florida on his own.

He fell in love with John Carlos Mendez Perez after they met at Perfumania.

And the fragrance that started the romance

was called Declaration by Cartier.

Jean Carlos Mendez Perez, 35 years old.

Jean sold fragrances at a Perfumania outlet.

He later saw one appreciative customer

who had taken his recommendation at a club,

and the two began an eight-year relationship.

Jean and Danny Wilson Leon died together at Pulse.

Alejandro Barrios Martinez, 21 years old.

Alejandro left his native Cuba in 2014

and was still perfecting his English. His mother

was granted, through a letter to the new US Embassy in Havana,

a humanitarian visa to reclaim his body.

Brenda Lee Marquez McCool, 49.

She was a loving mother to 11 children.

She survived cancer twice.

She loved salsa dancing, which she was enjoying with her gay son, Isaiah,

whom she shielded from the gunfire.

Christopher Joseph Sanfeliz, 24 years old.

Chris was a personal banker at JP Morgan Chase,

visiting Orlando from Tampa.

He was an excellent dancer

who taught his friends how to do the bachata.

Franky Jimmy Dejesus Velazquez, 50 years old.

Jimmy was a visual merchandiser at Forever 21,

and he joked that he was older than the demographic.

In his younger days, he traveled the world as a professional Jíbero dancer.

Juan Chevez-Martinez, 25.

Juan impressed his bosses as a housekeeping supervisor for resorts.

He was one of three Mexican citizens who died at Pulse.

They were all later honored by their homeland's government.

Jerald Arthur Wright, 31 years old.

Jerry loved both cats and dogs.

His own canine was called Rusty.

He had a quiet and kind personality

that suited his Disney workplace, where he was assigned to a position

on Main Street in the Magic Kingdom, and before that Tomorrowland.

Antonio Brown, 29 years old.

Antonio, an alumnus of Florida A&M,

handled human resources at a Lowe's store.

In college, he joined the ROTC program

and later served a year-long tour of duty in Kuwait.

In 2012, the army awarded him the rank of Captain.

Miguel Angel Honorato, 30 years old.

Miguel, who came to the United States from Mexico at age 4,

was a soccer fan and a catering company manager.

He leaves behind his three sons who were 15, 2, and 1.

He recently organized a Ferrari-themed birthday party for his youngest.

Anthony Luis Laureano Disla, 25 years old.

Anthony moved from Puerto Rico three years ago

to become a choreographer.

He showed a talent for dancing by age 10,

and became a master of many styles, ballroom, tango, salsa, and mambo.

KJ Morris 37 years old.

KJ worked as a bouncer at Pulse, and

had moved from Hawaii in April to help her mother and grandmother.

She loved drag performances, college basketball, and MMA fights.

Edward Sotomayor, Jr., 34 years old.

Edward made it his mission to open the doors for gay Americans to travel the world,

and recently coordinated the first ever gay cruise to Cuba.

He had a signature accessory, his prized black top hat.

Frank Hernandez, 27 years old.

Frankie managed a Calvin Klein store and lived for fashion.

He was planning to go to a pride celebration in New Orleans.

He liked to show off a tattoo on his forearm

that read, "Love has no gender."

Akyra Monet Murray, 18 years old.

Akyra was on vacation after her graduation from a Philadelphia Catholic high school.

She was third in her class.

She led the ladies Spurs basketball team with more than 1,000 points,

and earned a full college scholarship.

She was the youngest of the victims.

Joel Rayon Paniagua, 31 years old.

Joel found work on construction sites

and sent portions of his paycheck home to relatives in Mexico.

A loyal churchgoer, he came to America

because his cousin said there was a lot of crime, violence, and death where he grew up.

Jonathan Antonio Camuy Vega, 24 years old.

Jonathan was an assistant producer on La Voz kids Telemundo singing competition show

for young viewers.

He died, according to investigators,

after standing between the shooter and his friend Mary,

who was the mother of a newborn.

Yilmary Rodriguez Solivan, 24 years old.

Mary planned this Saturday night out with friends,

a treat after she gave birth to her second son three months ago.

She steered everyone towards a gay club

to avoid the kind of violence that had recently occurred at another local club.

Geraldo Ortiz-Jimenez, 25 years old.

Geraldo, who liked to be called Drake,

saved up for his trip from Puerto Rico to Orlando

all to see his pop idol, Selena Gomez, perform in concert

the night before the shooting.

He was working toward his college degree with big dreams and an optimistic outlook.

Gilberto Ramon Silva Menendez, 25 years old.

Gilberto was an only child who left Puerto Rico three years ago.

He was completing his studies in health care management,

and the dog show community saluted him as "one of our own."

his favorite breed was a saint bernard.

Mercedez Marisol Flores, 26 years old.

Mercedes moved far from her home in Queens

to study literature at Valencia College.

She had a love of music fostered by close family members who were DJs.

She hoped to become a party planner.

Peter O. Gonzalez-Cruz, 22 years old.

Peter, who called himself Omi,

worked for UPS and liked to draw.

He was a fun magnet, so much so that his aunt

said, "If Peter is not at the party, no one wants to go."

Rodolfo Ayala-Ayala, 33 years old.

Rody handled other people's blood donations for a living,

and was recently promoted to platelet supervisor.

He was a skilled salsa dancer and also

a prankster who could rock a bow tie.

Paul Terrell Henry, 41 years old.

Paul was a strong singer who could

play the piano and the organ, though he never had a lesson.

He worked in sales at a resort, and was

proud that one of his two daughters recently earned her high school diploma.

Xavier Emmanuel Serrano, 35 years old.

Xavier moved from Puerto Rico 10 years ago

and booked gigs as a professional salsa dancer at Walt Disney World and on large cruise ships.

He had a five-year-old son, and often took side jobs for extra dollars.

He recently found work at a shoe store

because the hours were better for raising his boy.

Tevin Eugene Crosby, 25 years old.

Tevin was a young business owner of a Michigan-based marketing

company with 20 employees.

He spread enthusiasm and inspired ambition among his colleagues with motivational memes

and the hashtag #LoveMyTeam.

Amanda Alvear, 25 years old.

Amanda shed 180 pounds with the help of surgery and exercise.

She hoped to leave her job in a pharmacy once she completed her nursing degree.

She documented her new look in selfies and treated herself and her nieces to new clothes.

Eddie Justice. 30 years old.

Eddie worked as an accountant.

He texted his mother during the attack.

While waiting in the hospital, his mother described him

as a young professional who

lives in a sky house like the Jefferson's.

She said he liked to live rich.

Work, Eddie.

His relatives described him as a mama's boy at heart

with a smile as bright as his future.

Angel LA Candelario-Padro, 28 years old.

Angel had recently moved from Chicago to Orlando

and found a job that he liked in a medical practice for eye doctors.

He had his own mission, though, on the side, leading workout classes as a Zoomba instructor.

Simon Adrian Carrillo Fernandez, 31 years old.

Simon boosted the morale at the McDonald's

that he managed by bringing his colleagues cakes on their birthdays.

Born in Venezuela, he had just traveled to Canada with his partner, Oscar Aracena-Montero.

They stopped to see Niagara Falls.

Oscar Aracena-Montero, 26 years old.

Oscar, a business student, who recently returned home from a Canadian vacation with his partner Simon, who

also died at Pulse.

Last year the two chose three chihuahuas to liven up the house that they bought together.

Jason Benjamin Josaphat, 19 years old.

Jason was studying computer science at Valencia College.

He developed passions for photography, hip hop dance, and gymnastics.

And his high school classmates recalled

he would playfully challenge his fellow members of the cheer squad to tumbling contests.

Leroy Valentin Fernandez, 25 years old.

Roy recently moved to Orlando to care for his mother

and took a job as an apartment rental agent.

His coworkers recall that he liked to blast Adele songs in the office.

In his spare time, he choreographed original drag routines, with many set to Beyonce and J-Lo tracks.

Enrique Rios, 25 years old.

Enrique was a faithful churchgoer, nursing student,

and elder care social worker.

He lived with his grandmother in Brooklyn.

He could dance the bachata and the soca.

He was on vacation in Orlando to celebrate a good friend's birthday,

Darryl Roman Burt II, 29 years old.

Darryl administered financial aid to military students at a Jacksonville college.

A former McDonald's manager, he just

completed his master's degree in human resources management,

and was celebrating at Pulse.

Cory James Connell, 21 years old.

Cory balanced his studies at Valencia College with his job at a public supermarket.

He was working toward a goal, to join the fire department.

After his passing, fire officials made him an honorary firefighter.

Martin Benitez Torres, 33 years old.

Martin was newly enrolled as a pharmacy student in Tampa.

He was in Orlando to visit his aunt and other family members.

That day, he posted photos of the food that his mother in Puerto Rico had

sent to Orlando for all their relatives to enjoy.

Luis Vielma, 22 years old.