Grief and pain are two of many words that can explain the feelings of the loved ones Forrest Ryan, 43, left behind, after he was reportedly beaten to death at the Zodiac Bar in Akron on Friday.

"We're all still trying to wake up from the nightmare that happened that we know we are never going to wake up from," Melissa Riley, Ryan's girlfriend said.

Ryan allegedly got into a fight with the DJ of the bar Robert Jarvis, 64, during Karaoke and Ladies night. According to an Akron police report, Jarvis allegedly struck Ryan in the head — where the victim had major surgery last year. Jarvis has been charged with aggravated murder and is being held in Summit County Jail.

Trina Crew, Zodiac Bar manager, and his girlfriend are leading an effort to raise money for Ryan's funeral and to take care of his three kids.

"Our game plan [with the donations] and our focus--powerful focus--is on his friends, the family, his children and his funeral."

Ryan had been going to the Zodiac Bar since it opened about two years ago and was a favorite among the employees and customers, Crew said. She said he was also a great singer, participating in Karaoke night almost all the time.

"He was a really close friend to everyone at the bar and we all loved him very much," Crew said. "It's very sad."

"They're playing songs he would sing Karaoke. They're here talking about things that happened with them," Riley said. "It's been very uplifting and positive. It hasn't been negative at all."

Riley said Ryan survived cancer and two nearly fatal car accidents and was trying to turn his life around. She said he was a very caring and respectful person.

"There's almost no words to explain the respect that he had and the respect he gave and the respect he got back from everyone around him," Riley said. "He just cared about everyone."

Riley said Ryan's kids will be most affected and the donations will help them the most because they lost a great father.

"His children would not go to bed at night until he sang them their bedtime story or their songs," Riley said. "They just could not sleep without that and that's just the kind of father he was. He was a fantastic father."

The donations will also help set up a trust fund for Ryan's three kids, Riley said.

Crew decided to keep the bar open because everyone decided they were going to stay positive and help uplift one another. She said she has received a tremendous amount of support, in which people have come down to the bar and donated to his cause.

"We've been sending out donations all weekend and actually a lot of people have came down and donated," Crew said. "It's been a great experience so far because of the support."

"It is a great feeling to have everybody come together," Crew said.

For more information on how to donate, visit Trina Crew's or Melissa Riley's Facebook pages for more details.

CORRECTION: We earlier reported Forrest Ryan was shot to death. We changed and corrected it, saying he was beaten to death.