Spring Break
'It was just this state of disbelief'
Vigil at Kent Roosevelt remembers 16-year- old
Jenna Staul
Issue date: 4/24/09 Section: News
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He had a quiet passion about him, friends said. Anything he did, he did with intensity.
"He was very, very intelligent. He knew everything about everything," said Tracie Espenschied, a sophomore at Theodore Roosevelt High School in Kent.
Wednesday morning Jacob stepped onto the railroad tracks just past Powdermill Road in Kent. It was suicide - he laid down on the tracks and was struck by a CSX train. He was 16.
The train's engineer called police at 9:25 a.m. Firefighters, police and the coroner responded moments later.
Espenschied heard the news about Jacob on Wednesday, but it wasn't until yesterday morning that it became real. Principal Roger Sidoti made an announcement to the student body.
"There was this tone in his voice," Espenschied said. "It was gloomy (in school). No one really talked."
Last night Jacob's peers, teachers and community members gathered in front of Roosevelt High School, clutching tiny white candles. A rock was spray painted with the words "Jacob. 4-22-09 ... Always Remember," illuminated by flickering candles at its base. Hundreds sang a faint chorus of "Amazing Grace" and "Blowin' in the Wind," remembering the high school junior.
"I've been a teacher for 10 years and never experienced anything like this, and I know Roosevelt hasn't experienced anything like this in a while," said Craig Foreman, who taught Jacob in a history class.
Jacob had dropped Foreman's class. Yesterday, he looked up an e-mail his former student sent to him. Jacob said he dropped the class because he couldn't give it his all - he never did anything he couldn't wholly devote himself to.
"Having kids of my own, I just can't even fathom this," Foreman said.
Some students found out yesterday morning, casting a solemn mood in the high school's hallways. Others found out earlier - through a text message, a phone call, through a sister, at a softball game.
"I was going to get my hair cut," sophomore Kevin Bjerre said. "My hairdresser was friends with his family. It was just this state of disbelief."
Peers described him as reserved but creative.
"He was a beautiful writer. He wrote beautiful music and poetry. He would exclude himself sometimes," sophomore Keegan Larwin said.
Senior Bryce Zimmer stood on the outskirts of the semicircle of mourners gathered around the painted rock. As Foreman took to the microphone to speak about Jacob, Zimmer looked up from the candle glowing in the palm of his hand.
"I didn't expect him to do anything like this - not at all."
Contact public affairs reporter Jenna Staul at jstaul@kent.edu.
Viewing Comments 1 - 4 of 5
Mary Jo
posted 4/24/09 @ 7:46 AM EST
I am very sorry for all of your losses...to family, friends and the community as a whole.
Concerned
posted 4/24/09 @ 10:02 AM EST
It is a very sad day indeed when such a bright promising soul removes himself from this world. We will all be asking ourselves for a long time "How could this happen in a place like Kent"? Although the deeper question may be "What truly posessed him to do this?"
These students and teachers that "loved him for who he was" are obviously good people and they deserve a chance to grieve as they see fit. (Continued…)
April templeman
posted 4/24/09 @ 1:56 PM EST
To Paul and Stephanie.. Adamek.. I am sorry and cannot fathom the emotions that you are experiencing. Everyone at work is thinking of you.
Andrew Hammond
posted 4/24/09 @ 7:22 PM EST
I'm a personal friend of the Adamek family. I am still in shock and send my prayers out to the family. What shocks me the most is that one month ago, I was shooting hoops with him and his two brothers, Ryan and Jordan. (Continued…)
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