A guy I went to HS with died in March

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

I would be affected by anyone's death, but this one is pretty hard.

The guy who died was a WILD MAN in HS. He made Ozzy Osbourse look like a saint.

And although I was awesome in English, I got stuck in remedial math in my freshman year of HS. He sat behind me, clucked like a chicken, and often whispered, "I'm going to KILL you PETRINA!!!"

In 1980 he shaved his head AND burned crosses in his arms.

I was scared, but at least I wasn't his younger brother, who came to school with black eyes and bruises regularly.

Around sophomore year he disappeared. He reappeared during the middle of our jr year. He had changed. He had found God.

NORMALLY, I don't give this much credit, yet, he seemed SO AT PEACE with himself. He still dressed like a biker (he'd visit me at the public library, where I worked, often). He was SO AT PEACE with himself. It made me laugh how the librarians freaked (actually, I LOVED IT!)

Last time I saw him was in 1995 at our 10th HS anniversary. He looked SO happy and just had this aura of PEACE around him.

About a week ago (when I joined facebook) I found out he had died, I don't know the details but I did find a tribute page on myspace that, for some reason, I can't find anymore.

This guy GOT HIS ACT TOGETHER and it really sucks. He had a family. And from the myspace page, I can KNOW he is missed.

I was trying to find out if there is a charity or a fund (he had kids) I could donate to. I felt "helpless" so I donated 25 trees in his honor.

I dunno, I just want to help the family and I'm not sure there is anyway I can.

I suppose I'm posting this to say he scared the HELL out of me at one point, but it breaks my heart that someone who SO got his act together got taken away too soon.

ML 1967-2008

[PapaBear]

I've been seeing death notices of HS people a lot more lately. It's really sobering. Part of it is my age. I know I'm not "old", but when you enter your 40's, there are so many ways people you knew can die. I'm still trying to figure out how I feel about it all.

I think I just said nothing.

[keithy_19]

A kid I graduated with two years ago dided from an overdose of heroin. The kid was a really awesome guy and smoked pot a good amount. I remember asking himself if he would ever do anything harder and he said he would never. I guess he was wrong. It sucks to think that a 19 year old kid, who was a real good guy, could do something so stupid to cause him to die. It's a hard thought to swallow. :down:

[DarkHippie]

Its good to see that people really can change. sometimes someone finding god isnt as annoying as you might think.

I've known a few people i went to school with who have died. Usually it is just suicide. A friend of a friend jumped off the top floor of the Palisades Mall, i guess it was 2 years ago. My friend Spider found his roomate dead, hanging from a noose in his appartment a few months ago. Not surpised. Suicide looks very attractive sometimes. I bet Suicide is a great lay.

[LaBoob]

I like to keep tabs on deaths from my graduating class... it's among the first questions I ask when I run into someone... "Know anybody from school who died?"... for some reason it fascinates me. We've had lots of death too (I'm not bragging).

One guy who used to pick on people all the time and had just a superior attitude wound up dying right out of high school in a car accident. Another one who lived down the street from me and rode the bus with me everyday died in a tragic car accident where the other person was drunk... THIS kid got picked on a lot and was just plain weird and an easy target, but was a good kid at heart. I was really sad for him when I heard the news.

The strangest death and the one that affected me the most was a guy I had a big thing for in high school, who traveled down to Florida to take part in a protest and on his way back up contracted meningitis and died somewhere between there and home. This one was truly disturbing.

[hunnerbun]

In July I just had my 25 yr HS reunion. There were a couple of people who I found out died over the years, but the most upsetting/disturbing thing was one of my classmates (I went to school with this guy since elementary school) who suffered a severe brain trauma. Apparently it was in the winter and he went outside where he was found a while later laying on the ground. I didn't get the full story so I don't know if the trauma was a result of the fall or if he suffered an aneurysm, but it was very sad to see him in a wheelchair. The funny thing was that his wife said he was more likely to remember us from elementary school then his own children because of the short term memory loss he suffered. Sad really especially since this guy was such a jock all thru school playing hocky and baseball.
It makes you realize how quickly things can change, literally in the blink of an eye.

[Misteriosa]

i was hs class of 1999 and we had our first fatality in the last week of august (right before the start of freshman year in college). one of the jokesters of the class was out drinking with his buddies and something went wrong. he got into a fight with someone and the guy pushed him to the ground. my classmate hit his head on the curb and died a few weeks later at the age of 18.

[Tenbatsuzen]

It's hard for me to believe that I graduated about flurfteen years ago, but as I don't keep in contact with a lot of people from high school, and those who do I have myspace pages that I've surfed, I didn't know a lot of them

I had a pretty large graduating class 500+, so it's not out of the realm of possibility that one or two of them died.

[CofyCrakCocaine]

When I was in 10th, this guy in 11th grade was a real jackass. He liked to run around screaming "the gorillaz are out to get ya WOOAHH"- to make his point he'd pull out his ass and leap backwards, mashing a freshman's face with his mandrill-inspired assplay. We all knew it was him when we found a turd rolled delicately with paper towels and mashed against the bathroom mirror. He pegged a friend of mine in the back of the head with an apple tossed from halfway-across the cafeteria. Did I say he was a real jackass? He was killed the same year in a car accident. We had a wing of the school named after him. In more spiritual memorium to the guy, one of his friends broke into the principal's office and took a shit on the desk.

I do not pretend to understand your own feelings on the matter of losing a fellow student, whether it be in school or later in life. Everyone's got their own unique issue to deal with. But, at least insofar as I know from dealing with my own experiences (which is the only way I can, in any semblance of authority, speak on this matter), the thing that ought be focused on here is not the circumstances of the end, but rather the way he was- what has been accomplished and the greatness of that. That is not to ignore what's happened, but to celebrate rather than grieve. I don't think of that 11th grader as the guy who was killed- rather I think of him as the guy who was a jackass to everyone but made everybody laugh at the same time.

I think 25 trees is a fine way to celebrate and you should be proud of yourself. But I suppose that's up to your point of view. All that said, it is still of course a great shame he went as young as he did. But it still sounds like he accomplished much, from what I've gathered here.

[grlNIN]

There are no less than 6 deaths in EACH class per year (for as far back as we can recall which at least 10 because we have a lot of older friends who add tot he list) from the High School my boyfriend graduated from. That is, that these kids die while still in school.

Car accidents mostly, suicides, drugs.


All i can say is at least your friend was happy, seemingly, in a good place and had the opportunity to have children and experience a complete and fulfilled life(hopefully) while he had the time.

I can understand how it could be hard news to take and what a way to find out (ech, facebook).

Sorry for your loss.

[jonyrotn]

In 1989 my graduating year I lost 7 close friends in one fell swoop..
All of them were kids from the neighborhood, they had a car accident on Webster avenue on easter sunday coming home from a Mount St. Micheal's football game, they crashed three blocks from home..
7 wakes and 7 funerals in 5 days, it was probably the worst week of my life.

That same year one of my friends got stabbed in the heart durring a robbery in front of my house and I was the one who found him..That one hurt a lot because he was coming to pick me up..
I tried really hard to save his life but he just lost too much blood..
Hughy Harley rest in peace..

As an adult one of my best friends blew his brains out and of course I found him..That sucked..
Tommy Wrenn rest in peace..

Then we could fast forward to 9-11 where I lost another boat load of friends but I'm kinda not in the mood to continue talking about all the fuckin death that has been a part of my life, many if not all are very painful to relive.. :sad:

[Dougie Brootal]

wow this just made me realize how sad my life is... all my friends from HS died while we were still in HS...:glurps:

[Drunky McBetidont]

i have no idea if any people i went to high school with are alive or dead. i really dont care. not that i didn't like them, i just never kept contact and have moved alot in my adult life. my wife keeps in contact with some of her high school friends and a few of them have died. (usually her mom cuts out the obituarys and sends them to her)
i don't go to reunions so i definately would not go to funerals of high school people.

[sr71blackbird]

In 1989 my graduating year I lost 7 close friends in one fell swoop..
All of them were kids from the neighborhood, they had a car accident on Webster avenue on easter sunday coming home from a Mount St. Micheal's football game, they crashed three blocks from home..
7 wakes and 7 funerals in 5 days, it was probably the worst week of my life.

That same year one of my friends got stabbed in the heart durring a robbery in front of my house and I was the one who found him..That one hurt a lot because he was coming to pick me up..
I tried really hard to save his life but he just lost too much blood..
Hughy Harley rest in peace..

As an adult one of my best friends blew his brains out and of course I found him..That sucked..
Tommy Wrenn rest in peace..

Then we could fast forward to 9-11 where I lost another boat load of friends but I'm kinda not in the mood to continue talking about all the fuckin death that has been a part of my life, many if not all are very painful to relive.. :sad:


Holy crap! That is way too much for a guy to go through bro. Wow. Glad to see you toughed it through and are a descent guy despite that heart ache. Jeez.

[sr71blackbird]

There were these two guys who were best friends in my high school and I remember there were scattered graduations parties and these two went to one together in one guys camaro and on the way back, they were driving drunk and crashed into the back of a garbage truck and the driver lived but the other guy got decapitated. The driver was in a coma for a week and when he came too and find out what happened he tried to kill himself. His leg got messed up and went into a funk since then and I still see him, 25 years later walking around town with a cane and a limp. He never seemed to recover and make anything of himself. Its sad.

[CYYYFYYY]

My best friend in HS missed 2 straight weeks. then very cassually in math class they mention he dyied. He did not have many friends. Iw as devistated. they acted no big deal. Things have changed. Now they would care a tad more.

[Alice S. Fuzzybutt]

I like to keep tabs on deaths from my graduating class...

I do this with my quarterly college magazine. I skip the articles and IMMEDIATELY go to the death notices. Then I go to the section where people announce marriages, babies, new jobs.

wow this just made me realize how sad my life is... all my friends from HS died while we were still in HS...

I'm really sorry, Doug. Here's a {{{{hug}}}}. I know it's not much, but I try.

[Thebazile78]

In comparison, most of the people I associated with in high school are still walking this earth.

The toughest deaths, however, were the following:


May 1994, Amy G.'s suicide. On school grounds during the school day. Amy and I sang together in the Chorale and Chamber Singers. I later became friends with her younger brother, Tommy.
September 11, 2001: Chris D. (Class of 1996) and Vinnie B.(Class of 1994) didn't come home. Their poor mothers didn't even get bodies to bury. I found out about them during two separate phone calls, one with my sister and the other with my brother Ger. Chris and I had been members of the swim team when we were younger in addition to having Junior year English together. Vinnie's younger brother Greg and I were in the same class all through grammar school; his younger sister Erin and I were in the drama club together. Vinnie was one of the best stage managers I ever knew.
July 2005: Nick G. (Class of 1999) died from heart failure. (Congenital heart defect; would've happened sooner or later, I guess.)


Before our senior year, a kid in our class was killed in a car accident (Octavio C.) but, since I didn't know him personally, I wasn't as broken up about it.

[Badinia]

That's sobering, Fuzzy...

I was google-stalking ex-boyfriends this year and came across a memorial website for a 33 year old artist I dated for a year in college. He killed himself last year, which takes you into a land of What If. What if we hadn't broken up, would his life have been better, or would I have found him in the garage?

[FUNKMAN]

grew up with a friend who was Polish, his name was Peter Galaszevic(not totally sure of the spelling) we at times would call him Peter Galadoopa, not in a mean way just stupid kid stuff... he was a heckuva nice kid and we hung out and played al lot of football and baseball in the local park together...

anyway at around age 17 we lost contact for the most part, we hung out in different circles. one day I am told by someone that he had died and the story was he was in the hospital and he was having nosebleeds, they supoosedly packed cotton too tightly in his nostrils and the blood backed up into the brain. and supposedly he died in his Dad's arms in the hospital hallway as he complained of pain in his head...

whether that's all true i could not confirm. about 4 years later I was working at the Colgate Plant and Peter's Dad also worked there. He really didn't know me well but one night I approached him and made him aware I was a friend of Peter's and let him know what a good kid he was and that we had played football and baseball together. The Dad began to cry and I just remember him saying that he would give everything he owned to have Peter back...

[Lady Resin]

When I was 4 years old I moved from Jersey City to where I live now. The day we moved in a boy from across the street came over to say hello. His name was Tony. He turned me into the tomboy that I was. From that day we became friends. His mom would take us to the movies, shopping, etc. When he was about 10 years old I noticed he wasn't looking well. He became pale and lost weight. My mom told he had lukemia. I had no idea what that disease was about. She didn't tell me it was fatal. One day I went over to see if he could come out and play. His mom answered the door crying. He passed away during the night. I was 10 years old. He was 11. My parents asked me if I wanted to go to the funeral. I said no. The day of the funeral I was sitting on the curb crying. Then the funeral procession came by our houses. His sister was in the back of the limo with window down crying. She saw me and waved and gave me a little smile. I can remember that day like it was yesterday.:sad:

[Mullenax]

When it comes to loving a wild child because they're so unbelievably rad, and unique, even when reformed, you have to know that when the candle burns at both ends it burns out faster. I didn't want to believe it but it's true.<p>
We used to joke about my friend who deserved to be arrested a thousand times but had a face like McCauley Kulkin, and somebody said that when phenomenal luck like that runs out it runs out bad, and it did. He had a sweet spirit but after a thousand legendary escapades he accidentally shot himself in the head at a party, 1:00 in the morning Christmas eve.<p>
It's depressing to think that being normal gives you a longer life span, but there's some correlation there I can't put my finger on. You want to think that because someone can buck the system and the man they can buck a death wrap, but they can't.

[MacVittie]

My high school class of just over 100 lost our first classmate 4 years after we graduated in 2006. It's very sad, but an absolute fact of life. The older you get, the more dead people you know.