Through laughter and tears, RJ Mitte's family for the first time shared tributes to the late "Breaking Bad" actor, who died at 34.
Mitte's younger sister, Lacianne Carriere, who is 12 years his junior, and their grandmother, Anita Dianne Carriere, were among Mitte's relatives who spoke at his Oct. 16 celebration of life at the Mitte Cultural District in Brownsville, Texas.
"I not only just lost a brother, I lost my father," Lacianne Carriere tearfully told the crowd. "My mom was a single mother, and when I was two weeks old she was in an accident that paralyzed her from the waist-down for the first few years of my life. My brother immediately took on the father role."
She continued, "I don't have many words that I can put together, but all I can say
is every part of me is RJ – every type of music I listen to, everything I watch, every game I play, our mannerisms. And I just really miss my brother."
She reiterated his love for Brownsville, which was "his home, his community." His mother, Dyna Mitte, found him dead at his Brownsville home on Oct. 12. The Cameron County Justice of the Peace Judge Cyndi Hinojosa previously told USA TODAY the cause was determined to be suicide.
"I want to say if anyone is struggling, please don't feel like you're alone. You're never alone," Lacianne Carriere said. "Just try to accept the help. Try your hardest and just reach out to someone."
Ending her speech on a lighter note, she vowed to never sell his "nasty truck." She added, "It's mine now."
RJ Mitte's grandmother recalls his adoption, praises his disability advocacy
Throughout the nearly two-hour ceremony, Mitte's sister was seen laughing and crying while she was seated next to their mother.
Their grandmother shared some of her memories of "the joy that he's brought to my life" and his early years with cerebral palsy, which he was diagnosed with around age 3. She also praised Mitte's philanthropic work with fellow cerebral palsy patients as well as his advocacy for disability representation.
Anita Dianne Carriere recalled Mitte's adoption at 3 days old, sharing that she joined his parents in picking him up in Jackson, Mississippi.
"I rode and held him in the backseat of the car until we got back to Austin, Texas. So from the very beginning I had the opportunity to be a part of his life," she said. "And we've had many ups and downs through the years, but we felt like RJ was one of our children."
Mitte was an honorary trustee of United Cerebral Palsy and worked with the nonprofit organization Shriners Hospitals for Children, through which he received care as a child.
"Most of us don't accomplish what RJ accomplished in 34 years; we don't accomplish it in 85 years," she joked. "I'm delighted that God chose him to accomplish the things that he did."
She added, "The thought came to me that God's son, Jesus, was given 33 years, and he literally changed the world. It amazed me that God gave RJ 34 years, and the amount of work he did to demonstrate God's love, that thought overwhelms me."
As evidenced by his philanthropic work, "he just had a love for people and a desire to encourage them in any way possible," she said. "There is so much more that he had to do, so now it's going to fall back on all of us to pick up the pieces and do what you can do to carry his legacy on."
If you or someone you know is struggling with suicidal thoughts, call or text the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline or visit 988lifeline.org for free, confidential support 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: RJ Mitte's sister mourns actor as family shares first public statements
