EVERETT – At 4 feet 10 inches tall and 75 pounds, Jonathan Keller wasn’t your typical homecoming king.
He was, however, an enormous inspiration to his fellow Cascade High School students who crowned him with that distinction last fall.
Under dark, cool skies in the middle of their spring vacation, classmates gathered in a campus courtyard Thursday night for a candlelight vigil to remember their friend, a persistently cheerful student leader with a disarming presence. Michael V. Martina / The Herald
Keller, who had cystic fibrosis, died early Thursday from the genetic disorder that affects breathing and digestion and has no cure.
Within hours, word spread quickly. More than 125 students, teachers and alumni stood shoulder to shoulder in an ever-widening circle, recalling how he made them laugh.
“He took advantage of every moment,” said Mike Therrell, a teacher at the school.
Despite frequent hospital stays, Keller had hoped to graduate with his peers in June. He had to work longer – sometimes through the summer – and harder than classmates to keep up on his studies, yet he was still on schedule. Michael V. Martina / The Herald
In recent times, he relied more heavily on his oxygen tank and mask, but everyone was just so glad to see him they hardly even noticed, his classmates said.
“He would light up the room whenever he was around,” said Elliot Gaskin, student body president. “He always had a smile and a good sense of humor.”
Katie Peterson, the senior class president, said everyone looked up to Keller. He led by example, recognizing the value of life his classmates might take for granted and teaching it to them by his actions rather than words.
“I really think that his perspective on life is just so overpowering,” Peterson said. “I never once heard a complaint come out of his mouth. … He just radiated this joy. He just had this love for life and everything around him. There was never any disappointment or bad days with Jonathan.”
Rachel Webber, who graduated in 2003, remembered Jonathan when he was a sophomore and she was a senior. Their leadership teacher, Roberta Hasstedt, told her classmates that if they were to get nothing else out of the class, they needed to get to know Keller.
Webber soon realized why. “It was his wish to make the school better,” she said.
Away from school, Keller had a job scooping ice cream at Baskin-Robbins and wanted to go to college to become a pharmacist.
In October, as a member of the homecoming court, he gave a speech that brought a thunderous ovation from the student body.
Keller said the honor of being elected king came as a shock.
“It was crazy,” he said. “It was overwhelming to have all my classmates, even freshmen I don’t even know, cheer for me.”
Reporter Eric Stevick: 425-339-3446 or stevick@heraldnet.com.
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