Romildo Silva, 27, Somerville

Thirty minutes before he was killed in yesterday's scaffolding accident, Romildo Silva, a Brazilian immigrant, was in a typically good mood, laughing and telling stories about his beloved 3-year-old son, relatives said last night.

''Some people wake up and feel bad," said Laubi Tolomeu, 27, a cousin and one of several family members who talked to Silva's coworkers after the accident. ''He always woke up with a smile."

Silva, 27, loved life, loved the United States, and loved his son, whom he gave a name he thought of as American, Ryan, said his family.

He also loved music and dancing, and he was taking classes to improve his English, said relatives who gathered last night to remember him at the three-decker apartment building in Somerville where he had lived.

After moving to the United States several years ago, Silva started working full time in construction. He also cut hair in his spare time.

He had dreams, relatives said, of making enough money so that he could move with his wife, Edilane, and his son back to Brazil, where he could open his own business.

A 24-year-old cousin, Fabio Coelho, showed off some of Silva's barbering skills last night, a design shaved into the back of his head with the inscription, ''100% Jesus."

''He kept talking about working and getting enough money to go back to Brazil and open a hair salon," Coelho said.

MATT VISER AND RALPH RANALLI