A glimpse of some of those who died:
NOAH POZNER, 6
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Noah was “smart as a whip,” gentle but with a rambunctious streak, said his uncle, Alexis Haller of Woodinville, Wash. Noah’s twin sister Arielle, assigned to a different classroom, survived the shooting. He called her his best friend, and with their 8-year-old sister, Sophia, they were inseparable.
When Noah’s mother, a nurse, would tell him she loved him, he would answer, “Not as much as I love you, Mom.”
Haller said Noah loved to read and liked to figure out how things worked mechanically. For his birthday two weeks ago, he got a new Wii.
“He was just a really lively, smart kid,” Haller said. “He would have become a great man, I think.”
JAMES MATTIOLI, 6
The upstate New York town of Sherrill is thinking of Cindy Mattioli, who grew up there and lost her son James in the school shooting in Connecticut.
“It’s a terrible tragedy, and we’re a tight community,” Mayor William Vineall told the Utica Observer-Dispatch. “Everybody will be there for them, and our thoughts and prayers are there for them.”
James’ grandparents, Jack and Kathy Radley, still live in the city, the newspaper reported.
CATHERINE HUBBARD, 6
A family friend turned reporters away from the house, but Catherine’s parents released a statement expressing gratitude to emergency responders and for the support of the community.
“We are greatly saddened by the loss of our beautiful daughter, Catherine Violet, and our thoughts and prayers are with the other families who have been affected by this tragedy,” Jennifer and Matthew Hubbard said. “We ask that you continue to pray for us and the other families who have experienced loss in this tragedy.”
CHARLOTTE BACON, 6
They were supposed to be for the holidays, but finally on Friday, after hearing much begging, Charlotte Bacon’s mother relented and let her daughter wear the new pink dress and boots to school.
It was the last outfit the outgoing redhead would ever pick out. Charlotte’s older brother, Guy, was also in the school but was not shot.
Her parents, JoAnn and Joel, had lived in Newtown for four or five years, JoAnn’s brother John Hagen, of Nisswa, Minn., told Newsday.
“She was going to go some places in this world,” Hagen told the newspaper. “This little girl could light up the room for anyone.”
OLIVIA ENGEL, 6
The images of Olivia Engel will live far beyond her short lifetime. There she is, visiting with Santa Claus, or feasting on a slice of birthday cake. There’s the one of her swinging a pink baseball bat, and another posing on a boat. In some, she models a pretty white dress; in others, she makes a silly face.
“She loved attention,” said Dan Merton, a longtime friend of the girl’s family. “She had perfect manners, perfect table manners. She was the teacher’s pet, the line leader.”
On Friday, Merton said, she was simply excited to go to school and then return home and make a gingerbread house.
“Her only crime,” he said, “is being a wiggly, smiley 6-year-old.”
JESSE LEWIS, 6
Six-year-old Jesse Lewis had hot chocolate with his favorite breakfast sandwich – sausage, egg and cheese – at the neighborhood deli before going to school Friday morning.
Jesse and his parents were regulars at the Misty Vale Deli in Sandy Hook, Conn., owner Angel Salazar told The Wall Street Journal.
“He was always friendly; he always liked to talk,” Salazar said.
Jesse’s family has a collection of animals he enjoyed playing with, and he was learning to ride horseback.
Family friend Barbara McSperrin told the Journal that Jesse was “a typical 6-year-old little boy, full of life.”
MADELEINE HSU, 6
Dr. Matthew Velsmid was at Madeleine’s house on Saturday, tending to her stricken family. He said the family did not want to comment.
Velsmid said that after hearing of the shooting, he went to the triage area to provide medical assistance. “We were waiting for casualties to come out, and there was nothing. There was no need, unfortunately,” he said. “This is the darkest thing I’ve ever walked into, by far.”
Velsmid’s daughter, who attends another school, lost three of her friends.
DANIEL BARDEN, 7
Daniel’s family says he was “fearless in the pursuit of happiness in life.”
He was the youngest of three children and in a statement to the media, his family said Daniel earned his missing two front teeth and ripped jeans.
“Words really cannot express what a special boy Daniel was. Such a light. Always smiling, unfailingly polite, incredibly affectionate, fair and so thoughtful towards others, imaginative in play, both intelligent and articulate in conversation: in all, a constant source of laughter and joy,” the family said.
JACK PINTO, 6
Jack Pinto was a huge New York Giants fan.
New York Giants wide receiver Victor Cruz said he talked to Pinto’s family, which is considering burying the 6-year-old boy in Cruz’s No. 80 jersey.
Cruz honored Jack Sunday on his cleats, writing on them the words “Jack Pinto, My Hero” and “R.I.P. Jack Pinto.”
“I also spoke to an older brother and he was distraught as well. I told him to stay strong and I was going to do whatever I can to honor him,” Cruz said after the Giant’s game with the Atlanta Falcons.
“He was fighting tears and could barely speak to me.”
Cruz said he plans to give the gloves he wore during the game to the boy’s family, and spend some time with them.
“There’s no words that can describe the type of feeling that you get when a kid idolizes you so much that unfortunately they want to put him in the casket with your jersey on,” he said. “I can’t even explain it.”
Jack’s funeral is scheduled for 1 p.m. on Monday at the Honan Funeral Home in Newtown, followed by burial at the Newtown Village Cemetery.
JESSICA REKOS, 6
“Jessica loved everything about horses,” her parents, Rich and Krista Rekos said in a statement. “She devoted her free time to watching horse movies, reading horse books, drawing horses, and writing stories about horses.”
When she turned 10, they promised, she could have a horse of her own. For Christmas, she asked Santa for new cowgirl boots and hat.
The Rekoses described their daughter as “a creative, beautiful little girl who loved playing with her little brothers, Travis and Shane.
“She spent time writing in her journals, making up stories, and doing ‘research’ on orca whales – one of her passions after seeing the movie ‘Free Willy’ last year.” Her dream of seeing a real orca was realized in October when she went to SeaWorld.
Jessica, first born in the family, “was our rock,” the parents said. “She had an answer for everything, she didn’t miss a trick, and she outsmarted us every time.” A thoughtful planner, she was “our little CEO.”
“We cannot imagine our life without her. We are mourning her loss, sharing our beautiful memories we have of her, and trying to help her brother Travis understand why he can’t play with his best friend,” they said.
“We are devastated, and our hearts are with the other families who are grieving as we are.”
BENJAMIN WHEELER, 6
Music surrounded Benjamin Wheeler as he grew up in a household where both his mother and father were performers.
They left behind stage careers in New York City when they moved to Newtown with Benjamin and his older brother Nate.
“We knew we wanted a piece of lawn, somewhere quiet, somewhere with good schools,” Francine Wheeler told the Newtown Bee in a profile.
She is a music educator and singer-songwriter. Sometimes the musical mother would try out tunes on her own children, with some tunes that she made up for Ben as a baby eventually finding their way onto a CD, she told the newspaper. .
GRACE AUDREY McDONNELL, 7
With broken hearts, the parents of Grace Audrey McDonnell said Sunday they couldn’t believe the outpouring of support they’ve received since the little girl who was the center of their lives died in the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.
Lynn and Chris McDonnell called their 7-year-old daughter “the love and light” of their family in a statement released by the little girl’s uncle.
The family also shared a photo featuring Grace smiling into the camera, her eyes shining and a pink bow adorning her long blonde hair.
“Words cannot adequately express our sense of loss,” the McDonnells said.
RACHEL D’AVINO, 29
Days before the Connecticut shooting rampage, the boyfriend of Rachel D’Avino had asked her parents for permission to marry her.
D’Avino was a behavioral therapist who had only recently started working at the school where she was killed, according to Lissa Lovetere Stone, a friend who is handling her funeral planned for Friday. D’Avino’s boyfriend, Anthony Cerritelli, planned to ask her to marry him on Christmas Eve, Lovetere Stone said.
Lovetere Stone said she met D’Avino in 2005 when D’Avino was assigned to her son, who has autism, in their town of Bethlehem. D’Avino, 29, was so dedicated she’d make home visits and constantly offered guidance on handling situations such as helping her son deal with loud music at a wedding.
“Her job didn’t end when the school bell rang at 3 o’clock,” Lovetere Stone said.
Police told her family that she shielded one of the students during the rampage, Lovetere Stone said.
“I’m heartbroken. I’m numb,” Lovetere Stone said. “I think she taught me more about how to be a good mother to a special needs child than anyone else ever had.”
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