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Alex Sabados, 14, died March 24, 2010 at his home following a brief and courageous battle with cancer.
He was born February 26, 1996 in Boulder to David and Julia (Stepniowska) Sabados. Alex attended Berthoud Elementary school and was currently in the 8th grade at Turner Middle School in Berthoud.
Alex was a member of St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Longmont, the Boy Scouts of America Troop 6 in Berthoud, and RMR BMX Team in Berthoud.
A wonderful, fun loving and happy boy, his family remembers him in many ways. Alex was a jokester and loved to make people laugh. Even in his illness, he would wear a special tie and clown nose to the clinic at Children’s Hospital for the enjoyment of the others. He really liked to tease his sister. Alex also had a deep caring side, with a big kind heart as he always looked to help others before thinking of himself. He never missed a chance to smile or passed up the chance to treat someone with kindness and was well-behaved, sweet, considerate and loved by everyone.
Alex loved adventures and the outdoors, especially any outdoor sport. He participated in BMX bike racing and played competitive soccer with Storm North. He also enjoyed skiing, fishing, hunting and hiking.
He dearly loved his family, especially his ‘Babcia’.
Alex is survived by his parents Dave and Julia, his sister Maria ‘Mia’ Sabados and her friend Levi Heath, grandparents Maria (Babcia) and Michal Stepniowscy, several uncles and aunts: Waldek and Tammy Stepniowski and their sons Michael and Tyler; Chris and Dawn Banas, Twila Sutton, Charles Sadados and Mark and Pam Sabados and their families. He is also survived by many friends, to whom his family express their love and gratitude for the great support given over these last few months.
Mass of Christian Burial will be 10:00 a.m. Saturday, March 27, 2010 at St. John the Baptist Catholic Church, Longmont. In lieu of flowers memorial contributions to Pathways Hospice, Brent’s Place or Ronald McDonald House can be sent in care of Ahlberg Funeral Chapel. Visit www.ahlbergfuneralchapel.com to leave condolences for the family.
All my love and prayers go out to you and your family. May the God of comfort surround you and your family. Jamie Leath Haught is my sister in law and I only met Alex at her wedding and what a kid! He pitched in and helped clean, smiling and joking around the whole time. Later that night at Jason and Jamie’s he was so friendly to his “new”t; family and he and my boys palyed and ate cake. I know that Alex is the winner in all this. He won his race and finished well. No more pain, no more tears, no more sadness. He is home.
“If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run …”; Do you know that one? Do you recognize this line from Kipling? “If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run …”
I had the good fortune a number of years ago to be a Den Leader for a group of Cub Scouts. Alex was one of those scouts. After spending time with those boys in different activities over several years, you get to know a little something about each one. One thing I knew about Alex – he preferred to wear his shoes untied.
“Alex, your shoes are untied.”
“I know Mr. Carter. That’s the way I like to wear them,” he said.
“Oh! So, if I see you with your pants unzipped, then I should assume that’s how you like to wear your pants?”
“Nooo, Mr. Carter!” he giggled at me with that twinkle in his eye. He had a twinkle in his eye, you know. I’m sure you’ve seen it. Of course, I never told him that. He would have been mortified … just as any self-respecting 9 year old boy would have been.
“OK. I’m just making sure I’ve got it right. You know us geezers don’t know too much about such things.”
“I know, Mr. Carter.” But I caught him again at the next meeting.
“Alex, your shoes are untied.”
“I knoooow Mr. Carter. That’s the way I like to wear them.” in a sing-song, hint of aggravation voice. Then he turned … and checked his zipper.
Those of you familiar with Cub Scouts will know what I am talking about when I mention Cub Mobile races. Those not familiar with Cub Scouts might think of Pinewood Derby. They are not the same thing. In Pinewood Derby the boys carve cars out of a 6-inch block of wood. In Cub Mobile, the cars are big enough for the boys to ride in – gravity powered. Now, I’ve only been to three or four Cub Mobile races, but I would be surprised to find that there is another Cub Mobile race track in the world that ever saw a car as original and imaginative as the ones produced by Alex and his Dad. The creativity and workmanship demonstrated by the two of them working together was simply amazing. I have pictures to prove it.
But, perhaps the most indelible image I have of Alex is an image of him that I never actually saw myself. In fact, it’s a scene that took place well before I met him. I don’t recall how it came up in conversation, but while I was talking with his mother one day, she told me a story about Alex when he was a toddler – about 3 or 4, I think. They were visiting Julia’s folks (in the “old country”) and one day happened to be near a field of blueberries just as the blueberries were in season. Little Alex toddled out into this field, found a spot where he could sit, and in any direction he put out his hand, it would come back full of blueberries.
Blue hands. Streams of blue juice running down his arms and dripping off his elbows. Blue mouth and cheeks. Brown hair with a bluish tinge. Blue juice dripping off his chin and onto his shirt. He was as happy and as content as a child could be. His mother noted that even years later, Alex still recalled sitting in that blueberry field, enjoying those blueberries.
In the last year of Cub Scouting I gave the boys a challenge. It was not directly related to Scouting – just a challenge from me to them. I gave them each a copy of Kipling’s poem “If …”. The challenge was to be able to recite the poem to me from memory and when I stopped them and asked a question about it, they would have to answer in their own words. If they could do that, I would treat them and their parents to supper at the restaurant of their choice. There was immediate excitement of having supper in New York or Washington or London even. So I had to narrow the scope. Recite the poem and answer the question about it and I would treat them and their parents to supper at the restaurant of their choice … anywhere between Fort Collins and Boulder. Well, they were all still excited and quite sure that they would be having supper at my expense before their final year in Cub Scouting ended.
Of the eight or nine boys in the Den, I figured that there were two, maybe three, that would actually take me up on that challenge. Alex was one of those two or three. He seemed to me to be self-motivated, competitive and always up to a challenge. So, I had to be prepared and come up with a question about the poem. As I read through the poem myself, one line stuck with me … that one I mentioned earlier. "If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run …" My question was, What is unforgiving about a minute? Why would the author refer to a minute as “unforgiving”? I was curious to know what a 10 year old boy would say in response to such a question.
As we grow older, I think it becomes clear why a minute is unforgiving. And when we have children of our own, it becomes crystal clear. A minute comes. It goes. And it never returns. You take your best shot at it when it’s there because once it’s gone you’ll never have the opportunity again. If you miss it, you’ve missed it forever. That’s what is unforgiving about a minute.
In the end, no one took me up on that challenge. I was a little disappointed but not surprised. After all, these were 10 year old boys. What do you expect?
As I think about it now, however, it seems to me that it did not matter whether Alex knew what was unforgiving about a minute. It did not matter because Alex filled his minutes. Even if it was only with 60 seconds worth of distance run, Alex filled his minutes. And in so doing, he has helped us fill our minutes. And, for all of us, he will continue to be an inspiring example in just this respect. "If you can fill the unforgiving minute with sixty seconds worth of distance run …"
I wish us all healthy, happy lives. And if I am lucky enough to live to a ripe old age myself, I hope I will maintain enough presence of mind to recognize an oncoming, unforgiving minute. And in that moment, recall a boy named Alex. And encouraged by his example, find the strength to rise to my feet … and run.
Greg Carter