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STOCKTON (KRON) – White ribbons hang in the park just outside Michael Quitasol and his wife, Fernisa Sison’s home in Stockton.
“I just want them to be remembered for being amazing people. All of them really. They touched so many lives. So many lives in so many different ways, ”said Dominic Selga, Sison’s son.
Fernisa’s son and daughter tell KRON4’s Michelle Kingston the entire family loved to scuba dive.
They’ve been on trips all over the world together.
This past weekend, Sison, Quitasol and his three daughters, Evan, Nicole and Angela, were on board the Conception when it caught fire off the coast of Southern California.
“They’re young and it’s kind of sad that their life ended so short,” said Sison’s daughter Nisa Shinagawa.
It’s a boat both Fernisa’s kids, Shinagawa and Selga, had been on before diving with their family.
“We have all been on that specific boat before multiple times,” Selga said.
Selga says his three step sisters who were on board are survived by a fourth sister, who lives in Southern California.
He says the family was very close even though his mom married Michael just a few years ago.
“They loved each other so much. [They were] great together, amazing together and they got to do something they love, ”Selga said. “Michael really super loved that. My mom got to spend time with him and them being together, I do take some type of comfort in that. ”
Sison and Quitasol were nurses at Kaiser but previously worked at St. John’s Church Joseph’s Medical Center in Stockton.
The hospital issued a statement in light of the tragedy:
We were extremely saddened to learn the tragic news that one of our nurses, Evan Quitasol, was on board the Conception. Two former long-term staff members, Michael Quitasol (Evan’s father) and Fernisa Sison, were also on board. We held a prayer gathering in our Chapel this morning to offer comfort and support to our hospital family. Our hearts go out to all the families and loved ones of those on board the Conception. Out of immense respect for the family’s privacy, we do not have any other words to share at this time.
This is also where Evan worked as a nurse.
Angela was a teacher at Sierra Middle School in Stockton.
Nicole lived in Southern California.
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