Gerrard Suarez Nieva

Gerrard Suarez Nieva, 41, of Las Vegas, Nevada was tragically killed on December 10, 2020 while riding his bike on the annual 130-mile Nipton Loop. A truck driver, under the influence of methamphetamine, struck a group of the cyclists, killing 5 and injuring 3 others.

Gerrard was born on July 18, 1979 in Pasay City in the Philippines to Reynaldo Nieva and Gloria Suarez. He immigrated to Las Vegas in 1991 when he was 12 years old and lived with his mother and two younger siblings, Don and Ria. Gerrard’s mom was a single parent working two jobs. As a result, the three siblings had to learn early how to take care of each other.

Gerrard and his brother Don shared many interests, including a love of hip hop, art and DJing. Both Gerrard and Don were gifted in the arts and often sketched. This love of art led them to appreciate graffiti art. However, Gerrard’s “career” as a graffiti artist came to halt at 15, when he, Don and a couple childhood friends were caught “tagging up” a wall. They then decided graffiti art on plywood in the backyard would suffice for their artistic expression. During this time, Gerrard and Don also became interested in hip hop music, collecting records and saving up all their money for turntables, mixers and speakers. They would spend all hours of the day and night torturing Ria with their loud music and entertaining friends. In high school, they met a group of friends who were in a breakdancing group called Full Force. It seemed fitting the two brothers would provide the music the group danced to. To this day, even after marriage, children, and pursuit of careers, they are still best friends with members of this group. And, Gerrard’s record collection has only grown - he continued collecting over the years, amassing thousands of vinyl records of hip hop, jazz, soul and funk. Gerrard will always be remembered as the “cool kid on the block,” even though he would never admit it himself.

Shortly after high school, Gerrard worked for Fresenius as a dialysis technician. Through the company, he was able to gain more training and eventually became a biomedical technician servicing dialysis machines. In total, he worked for Fresenius for 21 years. It was here that he met the love of his life, Cristina. Though it was clear they were very different from each other, Gerrard eventually convinced her to give him a chance. Gerrard was not only a colleague but also good friends to many people he worked with. He had a work ethic like no other. He was always unfailingly punctual and meticulous about his work. He cared immensely about keeping the dialysis machines in top order for the patients.

Gerrard’s life has always been shaped by his health and weight. Throughout his childhood years and early adulthood, he had been overweight. As a young adult, it was clear if he continued in the same path, his health would continue to deteriorate. He and one of his best friends decided to go on “The Brad Pitt” diet. Amazingly, as a creature of habit that he was, he dropped 100 lbs! He was able to maintain this weight loss through his love of cycling.

In 2006, Gerrard visited a friend in Hawaii, where he became enamored with his friend’s track bike. Shortly after, Gerrard bought his first track bike in Las Vegas. Don followed suit and the two of them became fixtures in the LV Fixed community, a local fixed gear group. The two brothers traveled all over California and eventually to Japan just to “mash” through the city with their track bikes. This eventually led to his passion for road cycling.

In 2014, Gerrard bought his first road bike, and a few years later he became involved in road racing. He first joined Allegiant Cycling, a local amateur Las Vegas team, where he raced crits in Nevada, California and Utah. A few years later, Gerrad joined Carefast Cycling (known in LV as “The Plaid Army” because of their kits) and was known not only as a steadfast teammate, but also a good friend within the tight knit team.

In his personal life, Gerrard always put his family first: he was a devoted husband to Cristina, stepfather to Johansen, Kailea, and Allen. Although he never tried to replace their biological father, because of his inherent ability to do what is right and what is needed without conscious thought, Gerrard became a great step-father. He would take care of needs such as cooking, drop off/pick ups, homework, daddy-daughter dances, and driving lessons. Gerrard was also a devoted dog-dad to Sarsi and Lilly as they became a true extension of the family. He remained very close with his brother and sister, even though they lived in New York and Colorado. They texted and chatted almost daily— mostly about the most mundane things. Over holidays and special occasions, they always made an effort to see each other as much as possible. And since Ria lived in Colorado, Don and Gerrard took advantage of exploring the roads there on every trip to visit her with their bikes - even riding up Mt. Evans (the highest paved road in North America) twice.

Recently, Gerrard became very interested in cooking, experimenting with recipes using his air fryer and even baking carrot cake virtually for his mother’s birthday 4 days before his passing. He often took pictures of his cooking, which included delicious Filipino delicacies and American favorites. He shared his daily cooking with his siblings in a group chat as all three share a strong passion for cooking.

Gerrard is known to be a gentle and humble soul to anyone that knew him. He was always the kind of person that you can rely on wholeheartedly to help with whatever was in his capacity to do. He was patient, caring, kind, selfless and generous. He was the kind that would accept discomfort without hesitation to make everyone else comfortable. He was the guy that will sleep on the couch or on the floor to make room for everyone else. He was the guy that let everybody else go first before he took his turn. He was the guy that made sure everyone else was ok before considering if he had everything he needed. Gerrard treaded lightly on earth but imprinted heavily and deeply on all those that loved him.

Gerrard is survived by his wife, Cristina Gonzales; his stepchildren, Johansen Pico, Kailea Mendoza and Allen Mendoza; his mother, Gloria Fowler; his siblings, Donalrey Nieva and Ria Nieva Pitts; his nephew Malcolm Pitts and his niece Camila Pitts. Gerrard is predeceased by his father, Reynaldo Nieva. Family and friends are heartbroken that we have needlessly lost this beautiful soul. The family is grateful for all the love and support they have received.

A celebration of life was held at Palm Eastern Mortuary on December 20, 2020 at 2 pm. If you wish to express sympathy or make a donation, please contact [email protected].