By:Paul J. Condra
Hundreds of friends, relatives and classmates gathered Tuesday at Our Lady of Peace R.C. Church to mourn the tragic death last week of Lynbrook High School graduate Jonathan Marconi.
Marconi, a sophomore at SUNY Cortland in upstate New York, was discovered shortly after 2 a.m. Friday, Oct. 5, after he apparently accidentally fell from a third-floor window of his fraternity house to a parking lot below. He was 19 years old.
Marconi wanted to become a physical education teacher and someday a coach, friends said. Indeed, he is remembered for being a very active person who loved sports. He was a great soccer player who also enjoyed lacrosse and track.
Marconi was a graduate of Lynbrook High School, class of 2000. Many of his longtime friends were present at the Mass Tuesday.
When asked what he will remember most about Marconi, 18-year-old Patrick Boccio responded, Just that he always had a smile on his face.
Indeed, Boccio said Marconi was jovial, liked to laugh and was great to be with.
Another long-time friend, Phyllis Kangro, said the Marconis were like her second family.
The world just lost such a great guy,she said, choking back tears.
She recounted how the two Marconis, Jonathan and his brother, David, also 19, along with her own brother, Patrick, used to wrestle around the house. Jonathan was adopted as an infant.
Friends said Marconi went to SUNY because he wanted a change of scenery, but that he always planned to come home for Thanksgiving.
His aunt, Ida Pasquarello, said he was the sweetest nephew anybody could have in the world.
During the memorial Mass, Father Mark Rowan told the Biblical story of the death of Lazarus, Jesus' friend.
According to the story, Jesus returns home to find Lazarus is dead. Jesus is then blamed by friends who say Lazarus would not have died had he been there to save him.
But Jesus tells his accusers not to be angry at Lazarus' death, but to keep their faith in God.
Similarly, Rowan reminded those at the Mass to do the same.
Where was Jesus when Jonathan died,he said. I think the answer tells us that he was right there.
Marconi had just joined the fraternity, Zeta Beta Tau, this fall and had moved from the dorms into the fraternity house off-campus in Cortland.
He was discovered Friday morning by Cortland police, after having fallen from the third-floor window of the fraternity house. Emergency crews attempted to revive him, but he was pronounced dead at the scene.
An investigation is underway to determine what caused the fall. Investigators have ruled out foul play or suicide. According to Lt. Jonathan Gesin of the Cortland Police, a party was held in the basement of the fraternity that night, but he said he wasn't sure if Marconi was at the party.
Marconi was buried at Calverton National Cemetery.
