SAN DIEGO (FOX 5/KUSI) -- An apartment fire on Dec. 5 just after midnight in Ocean Beach left 24-year-old Noah Rawson with injuries so severe he died in the hospital the next day. His family flew back to San Diego to honor his memory, saying a visit to the beach in December is a trip they never got to take. “He was my favorite person," Keele Burgin, Noah's mom, said. "I think he was a lot of people’s favorite person.” As she watched the waves with Noah's father, Matt Rawson, they remember everything they loved about him. “He just lived. He was like, ‘Mom, I’m going to Hawaii. Mom, I’m gonna learn how to surf.’ They’re big on kite surfing,” Burgin recalled. Rawson says the memories of his son give him peace as he mourns. “We have such great photos of him that really capture his spirit, and it’s so helpful,” Rawson said. Burgin remembered getting the shocking call from the ICU Burn Unit at UCSD Medical Center Hillcrest, asking for next of kin. “I thought it was a wrong number, so I wanted to call right back," Burgin said. She says Noah was asleep when a fire started in his apartment. The Ocean Beach Fire Department responded to the blaze, rescuing him and another person in the home. “Given the severity of the situation, she said I need to tell you to get on an airplane,” Burgin remembered the doctor telling her while she was in New Jersey. Burgin's two other sons joined them from Colorado, praying for a miracle. “He wasn’t supposed to make it two hours, and he made for all of us,” Burgin said. Noah died in the hospital the day after the fire, spending his final moments with his family. “I got to hold his hand for like eight hours, and that was such a kindness to me,” Rawson said. Since Noah's death, his family returned to San Diego to honor his life, saying these places and memories comfort them through the grief. “I’m never gonna say goodbye to him, but I did have to let him go,” Burgin said. Noah's family plans to start a foundation in his name to help people in need and inspire people to live boldly just like he did. They set up a GoFundMe page to start the foundation. “Spend time with the people you love," Rawson said. As for the cause of the fire, that remains under investigation.