Slain father, longtime Wichita hibachi chef and tattoo artist remembered by family
Shawn Gomez, who was born and raised in Wichita, often had a kitchen utensil in his hand throughout his 30 years of life.
Even as a toddler, he would meander into the kitchen and play with a spatula. His passion in the kitchen grew from there — to helping his mother and grandmother cooking for their large family, and eventually to a career that he planned to build his family’s future around.
He worked as a hibachi chef for years before taking the leap last year to start his own business taking orders and cooking out of at-home kitchens. He and his longtime girlfriend, Emma Delfin-Perez, started a limited liability company in September and planned to open a food truck later this year then, eventually, a family restaurant.
“He was very talented,” said Shane Davis, manager at Kobe Steak House of Japan. Gomez first learned to be a hibachi chef at the Derby location. “He was a great guy. He was a family guy.”
Gomez, who had two children with Delfin-Perez, his high school sweetheart, was fatally stabbed July 8 in the 2600 block of East Harry. Police were called to the scene around 1:55 p.m. and found him stabbed in the upper chest on the porch of a home. He later died at the hospital.
Police said he was stabbed after a fight.
Pedro Juan Hernandez was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of intentional second-degree murder in the killing of Gomez. The 38-year-old Wichita man and Gomez knew each other but weren’t friends, Delfin-Perez said.
On Friday, amid planning the funeral arrangements for her son, the oldest of six children, Margaret “Margarita” Lopez said she was relieved that Hernandez was arrested. But it doesn’t take away the pain.
“It was a relief because he’s not out here loose. He can’t do this, he can’t take someone else’s child from them,” Lopez said, starting to cry. “But it doesn’t bring back Shawn. It doesn’t take this pain away from me or his siblings or anybody in the family or his friends or anybody that’s known him.”
Gomez’s father, Lorn Smith, said Friday that his death didn’t feel real since he hadn’t yet seen his son’s body. Smith said his relationship with Gomez, which was on and off as he was in and out of his life, makes the loss even harder. He hadn’t talked with his son in months.
“That I always loved him,” Smith said when asked what he would tell Gomez if he had another chance. “Never stopped thinking about him or trying to be a part of his life.”
Gomez was the oldest of his siblings: five boys and one girl.
Brianna Roman, Gomez’s sister, said he always looked out for and helped take care of her and her siblings. She said he always encouraged her to reach her academic and career goals. She said he always texted and called asking for photos and videos of his toddler niece.
He’d always end conversations with her by saying, endearingly, “I love you, ugly.” He also called her and his niece princesses.
“He was just a really loving, caring person,” she said.
Lopez had lived with her mother, the late Rosalie Perez, after having Gomez as a teen before moving out on her own. But, still, Gomez stayed very close with his grandmother, often spending days with her. Together, they would cook traditional Mexican food.
Food was a big part of their family. He loved his grandmother’s cooking, but especially her potato salad. He always requested it at family gatherings. Gomez also loved his mother’s cooking. He wanted to sell her mazapan cheesecake out of his food truck.
Lopez started dating Fernando Lopez when Gomez was 12. Lopez quickly became a father-figure to Gomez, who was the best man at their 2017 wedding.
Gomez started showing a professional interest in cooking around 15 — around the same time he met Delfin-Perez in art class at West High School.
Gomez was a talented artist, his family said.
He started doing tattoo work on family and friends as a teen. He loved to do lettering. Delfin-Perez even let him tattoo her before they started dating in their teens.
She was a little nervous about getting the tattoo, but trusted in his talents. She also trusted him.
“He was so funny,” she said. “He always made me laugh. He had that great personality that you always wanted to be around.”
Gomez later got Delfin-Perez and their children’s names tattooed on him. He had about 20 tattoos, Delfin-Perez said, adding that she plans to get his name tattooed on her in the coming months.
Delfin-Perez said Gomez was always the life of the party. Family said being a hibachi chef fit his personality, as he enjoyed the attention and socializing.
Working nights as a hibachi chef also allowed him to spend the days with their children, 10-year-old Amaya Gomez and 6-year-old Adriel Gomez.
“He was a great dad,” Delfin-Perez said. “He always wanted to be around them for as much as he could.”
The couple had long talked about Gomez starting his own business. One day, he just did it, Delfin-Perez said, recalling his excitement as he posted on social media about taking orders.
“That night was so busy and we were so surprised about how many people ordered and loved his food,” she said, adding they got around 30 orders that first night in January 2021.
He would take orders on social media and people would either come pick them up or have them delivered. Delfin-Perez would help with the prep.
Business grew.
It started with hibachi meals, but soon Gomez started to make a hibachi burrito that quickly rose in popularity. He also had a garlic fried rice that “he always bragged about,” Lopez said.
The idea of buying a food truck and then a restaurant started to become more and more tangible. He had been looking up food trucks online.
“He had dreams, he had plans,” Lopez said. “He was going somewhere.”
Lopez first found out her son was stabbed when one of his friend’s called her and told her she needed to get to the hospital. He didn’t know Gomez’s condition, and thought he was taken to Ascension Via Christi St. Joseph.
Several family members rushed to the hospital, but Gomez wasn’t there. He wasn’t in an Ascension hospital. They went to Wesley Medical Center and were told to wait.
Delfin-Perez got a call from her daughter who was worried as police just arrived. She told her everything was OK.
Family waited and waited. Then they got the news: Gomez didn’t make it.
“I couldn’t believe it. My heart sank,” Delfin-Perez said. “It was really hard. It’s still hard to accept it. He took a big part of me with him.”
Delfin-Perez said she is trying to raise money to help pay for the funeral. She said the loss of income from Gomez will make it harder to make ends meet. They had a food fundraiser Friday and are making plans for others.
A candlelight vigil was planned for Saturday night.
Delfin-Perez was taking money for the Friday fundraiser through Cashapp, Venmo, and Chime at @Mamas323. Anyone wanting to help with the funeral can also donate there.
Family is still working out the details of the funeral, which is planned for July 22.
