Grieving friends say Alec Miciunas is unforgettable
Classmates, teachers honor teen’s memory by purchasing Memorial Park bench
Alec Miciunas, wearing the hat, passed away early in the school year. His friends and teachers have teamed up to honor him once more by purchasing a bench that will be installed at Memorial Park Lake in his honor. File photo by JAIME ANTON
NORTH ROYALTON – During his short 16 years on earth, Alec Miciunas had a lasting impact, and now his friends want to do something lasting for him.
Students and teachers have ordered a bench to be installed soon at Memorial Park Lake in the spot nearest the North Royalton Skate Park where Alec, an avid skateboarder, spent much of his time.
Alec, a junior, passed away Sept. 15 after fighting a year-long battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, when a large, cancerous tumor was discovered in his sinus cavity. Despite extensive chemotherapy treatments, the cancer spread.
In the months before his passing, friends and teachers stepped in to raise dollars for medical expenses and to plan special things for Alec to brighten his day. Not that Alec needed much cheering up. Despite his struggles, friends say he always wore a smile and was laughing, something they will never forget.
“I think it’s important to remember him because of the way he acted. He never let anything get him down. He was going through hell, but if you didn’t know him, then you wouldn’t have guessed what he was going through,” his classmate Ethan Kaser said.
Alec and Ethan’s former teacher Bev Joyce feels the same way. What does she miss most about Alec?
“That’s easy … his smile. Even on the worst of days, Alec had a smile on his face. He always left my class for chemo on Fridays. Even when he knew what hell he was going to suffer that afternoon, he always walked out the classroom door with a smile, a wave and a positive statement, like “have a nice weekend” or “see ya.” He really is a role model in that regard. I know I look up to him for that,” she said.
Ethan approached Joyce for help in honoring Alec. After speaking with the mayor, the idea of a bench came about.
Tony Kleem, a professional artist and head of the high school’s history department, donated a painting to raffle off which raised $500, and the proceeds from the recent GloRo high school winter dance, which usually goes to a cause of some sort, covered the remaining $500.
“Ironically, the spot closest in proximity to the skate park was available,” Joyce said. “Alec was much loved by his friends and by his teachers. While we could do nothing at the time to stop his death, we can do something now to celebrate his life and to show love to his family and to this community. When Michelle Toth, Alec’s counselor at the high school, told Mrs. Miciunas of our intentions for the bench, she said the idea warmed her heart and she was glad to know we were still thinking of Alec. I, for one, can say I think of Alec nearly every day in my classroom, and I know this must be the case for his close friends and certainly more so.”
Ethan misses his friend daily too. Though they didn’t meet until their freshmen year they quickly became close. He misses Alec’s personality most.
“He was one of my only friends and was my closest when I came to the high school. He was the nicest kid ever. There was almost never a time where he wasn’t smiling or laughing,” he said. “I wanted something special to remember him by. Alec, Kenny Lint, Ryan Bialkowski and I would go to the skate park at Memorial Park almost every day during the summer of our freshman year. Even when Alec was going through his treatments, he would always try to come to the park to watch us or to film us; so, I wanted something to show how much skateboarding and the skate park were a part in his life.”
Once the bench arrives it will be engraved. What it will say hasn’t been decided, but Joyce said the traditional inscription just won’t do.
“I would like it to be reflective of Alec; he was a fun kid and a simple, ‘In Memory of …’ does not seem to suit his personality.”
Students and teachers have ordered a bench to be installed soon at Memorial Park Lake in the spot nearest the North Royalton Skate Park where Alec, an avid skateboarder, spent much of his time.
Alec, a junior, passed away Sept. 15 after fighting a year-long battle with cancer. He was diagnosed with embryonal rhabdomyosarcoma, when a large, cancerous tumor was discovered in his sinus cavity. Despite extensive chemotherapy treatments, the cancer spread.
In the months before his passing, friends and teachers stepped in to raise dollars for medical expenses and to plan special things for Alec to brighten his day. Not that Alec needed much cheering up. Despite his struggles, friends say he always wore a smile and was laughing, something they will never forget.
“I think it’s important to remember him because of the way he acted. He never let anything get him down. He was going through hell, but if you didn’t know him, then you wouldn’t have guessed what he was going through,” his classmate Ethan Kaser said.
Alec and Ethan’s former teacher Bev Joyce feels the same way. What does she miss most about Alec?
“That’s easy … his smile. Even on the worst of days, Alec had a smile on his face. He always left my class for chemo on Fridays. Even when he knew what hell he was going to suffer that afternoon, he always walked out the classroom door with a smile, a wave and a positive statement, like “have a nice weekend” or “see ya.” He really is a role model in that regard. I know I look up to him for that,” she said.
Ethan approached Joyce for help in honoring Alec. After speaking with the mayor, the idea of a bench came about.
Tony Kleem, a professional artist and head of the high school’s history department, donated a painting to raffle off which raised $500, and the proceeds from the recent GloRo high school winter dance, which usually goes to a cause of some sort, covered the remaining $500.
“Ironically, the spot closest in proximity to the skate park was available,” Joyce said. “Alec was much loved by his friends and by his teachers. While we could do nothing at the time to stop his death, we can do something now to celebrate his life and to show love to his family and to this community. When Michelle Toth, Alec’s counselor at the high school, told Mrs. Miciunas of our intentions for the bench, she said the idea warmed her heart and she was glad to know we were still thinking of Alec. I, for one, can say I think of Alec nearly every day in my classroom, and I know this must be the case for his close friends and certainly more so.”
Ethan misses his friend daily too. Though they didn’t meet until their freshmen year they quickly became close. He misses Alec’s personality most.
“He was one of my only friends and was my closest when I came to the high school. He was the nicest kid ever. There was almost never a time where he wasn’t smiling or laughing,” he said. “I wanted something special to remember him by. Alec, Kenny Lint, Ryan Bialkowski and I would go to the skate park at Memorial Park almost every day during the summer of our freshman year. Even when Alec was going through his treatments, he would always try to come to the park to watch us or to film us; so, I wanted something to show how much skateboarding and the skate park were a part in his life.”
Once the bench arrives it will be engraved. What it will say hasn’t been decided, but Joyce said the traditional inscription just won’t do.
“I would like it to be reflective of Alec; he was a fun kid and a simple, ‘In Memory of …’ does not seem to suit his personality.”