Funeral and Touching Tribute Planned For Wappingers 8th Grader

The community will be celebrating the life of a student at Wappingers Junior High School who was recently killed in a tragic accident.

Last Thursday, Jac Antonio Cortes was struck by a truck while riding his bicycle on Vassar Road in the Town of Poughkeepsie. The death of the 14-year-old Wappingers boy sent shockwaves through the community, with many donating to a Go Fund Me account set up by one of Cortes' family members.

The fund's purpose was to offset the cost of funeral expenses, but after quickly surpassing its goal of $6,000, donations continued to pour in. As of this week, it was nearly $30,000.

Special Tribute Planned for Wappingers Falls 8th Grader

Word of Cortes' death was followed by support from the Wappingers Central School District. Counselors were placed on call for the days following Cortes' death, inviting students in need of assistance to come to the school and talk. Now, students have been asked to participate in a special tribute to Cortes at his funeral services planned for this week.

Family and friends will be gathering for a celebration of Cortes' life this Thursday at Straub, Catalano & Halvey Funeral Home in Wappingers Falls. A mass will follow on Friday morning at St. Martin de Porres Church in Poughkeepsie. According to a letter from Wappingers Junior High School, students in attendance at the wake on Thursday are being asked to wear sports apparel to recognize the student's favorite team.

Wappingers Junior High/Canva

Cortes was such a dedicated New York Giants fan that he insisted on wearing a Saquon Barkley jersey in his seventh-grade yearbook photo. Cortes also planned on emulating some of his sports heroes by joining the school's modified football team in September.

In honor of the 14-year-old's passion for football, everyone is requested to wear Giants shirts and jerseys to his wake. Maddi Harris, manager of communications for the New York Giants told WPDH that the team was aware of Cortes' passing and and has made arrangements for something special to be presented at Thursday's services. The team spokesperson added, "our hearts and thoughts are with Jac's family and friends".

More information about the services is detailed in Cortes' obituary.

10 US State Which Your Child Is Least Likely To Become A Sports Star

The total number of current athletes from each state was acquired from Sports Reference and added together to calculate the total amount of athletes across the four major sports leagues from each state. This number was then divided into the number of male births in each respective state from the most recent available data.

The number of male births was assumed by dividing the total number of births in half, assuming that births are 50% male and 50% female.

Gallery Credit: Kyle Matthews