Anthony Perez (Photo: gofundme)
Feb. 7, 2018 By Tara Law
A Gofundme campaign has been launched to help the family of a Glendale boy who died yesterday when he fell through the ice at a pond in Forest Park.
The PTA of PS/IS 113Q, where 11-year-old Anthony Perez attended, started the fundraiser to help the family cover his funeral expenses.
Perez died yesterday at about 4 p.m. when he walked out onto the ice at Strack Pond to save a friend and fell through. His friend survived.
Jennifer Bonowitz, the PTA president of the Glendale school, said that the PTA met for an emergency meeting after learning about Perez’s death to discuss helping the family.
“We want to do anything we can to make it easier for them,” Bonowitz said. “I’m sure they don’t have a burial plaque. They had no plans to bury their child.”
The campaign had raised nearly $5,000 in just a few hours of being launched, with a set goal of $15,000.
Psychologists from area schools visited PS/IS 113Q on Wednesday to help the students grieve, Bonowitz said.
“It was a very tough day,” Bonowitz said, who knew Perez. “He had a lot of friends.”
Bonowitz recalls an incident involving Perez. She said she once dropped some food items on school floor and out of all the children it was Perez who helped her pick them up.
“He was a good boy,” she said. “He was very kind, very generous.”
A page in the school’s yearbook will be set aside to honor Perez.
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One Comment
Clearly, little Anthony Perez was a loving, generous, kind boy who gave no thought to his safety to save a friend. What a blessing he was to this world. His parents will travel a difficult course as they crawl about recovering the pieces of their shattered hearts. It’s a journey I know only too well. Almost sixteen years ago I lost m precious, loving, kind, brilliant son, Jason-Eric, to a horrible tragedy. It took a decade for my overwhelming grief to reach the point of equilibrium. My daughter still hasn’t recovered from watching her brother die when she was only ten. I am heartbroken anew. I will pray for Anthony’s survivors. I am extending my heartfelt condolences to Anthony’s parents, siblings, family, loved ones, and friends.