'He had a place in your heart': Fennville Schools community mourns loss of Alejandrino Mateos
FENNVILLE — The Fennville Public Schools community is grieving the loss of a student and will celebrate his life with an event Saturday, May 21.
Alejandrino Mateos, 16, was a sophomore at Fennville High School living with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a rare genetic disorder causing progressive degeneration of muscles. He died Sunday evening, May 15, after being hospitalized the day before.
Director of Curriculum and Instruction Jessica Gierucki, who had Alejandrino as a student when he was in third grade, said he was a “firecracker” and always maintained a positive attitude.
“He never complained. He had a lot stacked against him, especially recently, he really didn’t complain,” she said. “His older brother has the same condition. They have a lot of joy and express that joy. Alejandrino was fun to be around.
“For anybody who worked with him, he had a place in your heart.”
Katelyn Brouwer, Alejandrino’s teacher the past two years, shared a similar sentiment in an email to The Sentinel.
“Alejandrino had a lot going against him in life, but that didn't stop his determination to try things on his own, his witty sense of humor and his stubborn attitude that you couldn't help but adore,” she wrote. “Alejandrino could make the whole class laugh with his quick jokes that he would throw in at just the right time.
“Alejandrino taught us all to not be afraid to be a little stubborn when you know what you want and to not take life too seriously.”
“Alejandrino had a smile and a laugh that lit up the room and his wit was unmatched. He was stubborn and independent and he hated to be fussed over,” Allison Kiss, a special education teacher at Fennville High School, wrote in an email to The Sentinel.
Alejandrino had a love for cars and a knack for directions from a young age. Kiss, Brouwer and Gierucki noted his skill for drawing maps, remembering roads and always noticing when drivers took a different route than normal.
A celebration of life for Alejandrino will take place at Berlin Raceway in Marne Saturday. The event was initially planned as a surprise for the Mateos family, along with a car show at the high school that was planned for Monday, May 16.
It was set up after Alejandrino had to miss an earlier celebration on Cinco de Mayo for students who had done well on the WIDA assessment, a test for students learning English as a second language.
Teachers asked what he would like to do to celebrate and he said he wanted to see a racecar. Gierucki reached out to Berlin as a way to connect with drivers for the car show, but the race track offered to do something bigger.
Mateos’ father and older brother, who also has Duchenne muscular dystrophy, will have a complimentary suite for Saturday’s race. The raceway also donated 200 tickets to the Fennville community. They can be reserved by emailing mateosfamily2022@gmail.com.
“They just kind of blew us away with that,” Gierucki said of Berlin’s generosity. “They have been so gracious and generous.”
Around 100 tickets were still available as of Friday morning. Fennville asks that people make a donation to the family when collecting tickets. Donations are being collected through Christian Neighbors of Douglas.
“The tickets are free, but we ask that people make a contribution to the family’s needs,” Fennville Superintendent Jim Greydanus said. “This is a special boy. He just had a spark. He had such a good relationship with the staff. They would banter back and forth and just enjoy each other.
“There were a lot of teachers and parapros who were like mothers to him at the school.”
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Celebration of life planned for Fennville student at Berlin Raceway
