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Family, friends gather to share memories of Valley Stream Memorial J.H.S. student

Remembrance held for seventh-grader killed in December

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One day after what would have been Zachary Ranftle’s 13th birthday, his mother, Kathleen Flood, listened as his classmates shared memories of the popular seventh-grader, who died on December 11 after he was hit by an SUV while he walked to Memorial Junior High School.

“There really is a great bunch of kids here at Memorial,” said Flood, who attended the ceremony with her husband, Patrick, and two younger sons. “They’ve really touched me and my family. All the little things they say, all the little memories and stories they tell, they really say so much about him. The way they’ll say he always had a joke, a smile, a kind word or a high five is exactly how I see him in my mind. Those little things and memories really keep him alive in everyone’s hearts.”

One of Zachary’s teachers, Erin Primm, began the memorial by reading two poems, “Young Life Cut Short,” by an unknown author, and “Peek into Heaven,” by Callie Sanders Thornton. Primm’s reading focused on celebrating the time Zachary had, rather than the years he didn’t have. “Do not judge a song by its duration,” Primm read. “Judge it by the richness of its content.”

The attendees, mostly students and faculty members who knew Zachary, received balloons for the second part of the 30-minute ceremony. “What we’re going to do is each take a balloon and write a short message to Zack,” Principal Anthony Mignella said. “Something we want him to know, or something that maybe we feel like we never got the chance to say to him. At the end of our time here together, we’ll release those balloons up to the sky so those thoughts and love can reach him.”

Romario Jackson, a classmate and close friend of Zachary’s, said the move from elementary school to junior high put some distance between them. His message was one of continued love.

“I said that I really missed him,” Romario said. “I really missed talking to him and having him around. We were close friends for a long time but were in different classes this year and hadn’t hung out as much. No matter what, though, Zack always was a friendly face, saying hi whenever I passed him in the hallways or around school.”

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