Devin Booker remembers hopping in the car with his mother, Veronica Gutierrez, as she took a more than two-hour drive from their home in the suburbs of Grand Rapids, Mich., to Detroit to spend time with his Papa. Booker was too young to fully understand the significance of the visits, since communications with his grandfather, Jesus Gutierrez, were stunted by a language barrier — Devin spoke no Spanish, Papa got by with some broken English. But there was always a connection, a warmth, pleasantries, between the two.
“He was just a really caring guy,” Booker said of his grandfather in a recent telephone conversation with The Athletic. “He always helped my mom out when she was in need, which was really important for me. She just always talked about his character and how loving he was, and just how he was the backbone of the family.”
Those weekend visits growing up came flashing back to Booker two years ago, when his grandfather passed away. Jesus Gutierrez…
