Fallen Friends Honored

Kellie Davies
Review Correspondent
Published: April 3, 2008

A celebration of life, in honor of three Orange County High School students, Joseph Stanley, Valentina Roa and Caleb Smith, was held at OCHS on Saturday, March 29. 
Students, teachers, family and community members attended the truly beautiful ceremony. 
Many individuals, ranging from community members to OCHS students, have spent countless hours preparing for the memorial service.  OCHS senior and close friend of Valentina Roa Carrie Brockman stated, “It was a hard thing to plan for, but it turned out really well.”
After a prayer by Abundant Life Christian Fellowship Pastor Dr.  Dwayne Pugh in the front of the school, people filed into the school building.  Music filled the room as people entered the auditorium. 
A group called “Glass Pancake,” consisting of OCHS students Ben Sanner, Nick Montes de Oca, Danny Griffin and Stephen Loughman, played songs periodically throughout the ceremony.  The songs were in remembrance of dear friends.
OCHS Principal Eugene Kotulka and teacher Dingani Mthethwa opened the ceremony, while friends of Joe, Val, and Caleb also spoke. 
Speaking on behalf of Joe, OCHS seniors Evan Bond, Sanner, Ben Freeman, Adam Jacques and Elliot Gillian took the stage. Bond, Gillian, and Logan Collins all spoke of the various aspects of Joe: his personality, his bird calls, his knack for chess.
OCHS seniors Brockman, Brandy Wentz, and Caylen Haney spoke for Valentina.  To conclude their speeches, Haney recited a poem that she had written just for her dear friend.  OCHS student Cassandra Manor then played “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac.
Carrie Jacobs, a freshman at OCHS, delivered a poem written by an anonymous student for Caleb.  The poem was entitled “God’s Angel.”
OCHS teachers Lorraine Ryan, Anna Collins, and Rachel Carlton-Mthethwa, along with former teacher Bonnie Fenwick, took the stage shortly after.  Ryan, who had taught both Joe and Val, spoke on behalf of those two students.  Collins delighted the audience with stories about Valentina, while Fenwick discussed her “daily cup of Joe.” Carlton-Mthethwa spoke about Caleb and his kind, accepting personality.  Wind chimes were donated by Collins in commemoration of the three students.
Randy Seal offered a PowerPoint presentation of Joe and Val.  The audience saw the two students through a collaboration of video footage and pictures. 
Haney stated, “The service was a good thing for all of the families.  It brought them together and allowed them to see how important their children are to the high school.”
Concluding the PowerPoint, the plaques dedicated to the students were presented in the senior courtyard of OCHS.  The parents of Joe, Val, and Caleb all spoke.  The audience wholly embraced the strength and hope the parents’ expressed in their speeches.
Joe’s cousin, OCHS senior Ryan Stanley said, “It was a bittersweet service that brought back many touching memories with Joe.  It is an honor to have shared my life with such a caring person.”