TULSA, Okla — After a tragic accident, 21-year-old Javier Gardea passed away while working at his construction site.
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His alma mater, East Central High School, retired his soccer jersey in a gathering of students, family, and loved ones Tuesday evening.
WATCH: ‘Lovable’: Community honors late Javier Gardea at high school soccer game
‘Lovable’: Community honors late Javier Gardea at high school soccer game
Javier’s mother, Miranda Gardea, said her son was going to be a father with his high school sweetheart, Helen Martinez.
“He was lovable, he touched a lot of people’s hearts and I’m seeing that now,” said his mom Miranda.
Helen Martinez said Javier also taught her how to play soccer.
“He wanted to be a boy dad, but when he found out he was having a girl, his whole perspective changed,” said Martinez. “He was happy, he was like ‘oh, I’m gonna be a girl dad.’”
Helen and her family said Martinez can have her baby now at any minute.
Javier’s father Ely Gardea said his hard work was unmatched.
“He was a man who would work 12 hours a day and he was deeply in love with soccer,” he said. “He really loved his soccer.”
Javier’s former coach, Connor Whitham, said Javier was special.
“I just want to say, like, how incredibly humbling it is to have known Javi,” he said. “I’ve coached hundreds of players and taught hundreds, thousands of students, and he’s just one of the special ones, where you don’t ever forget about him because of just like his like contagious smile and his like love of life, and just how like passionate it was about the things that he enjoyed.”
His family has set up this Go Fund Me for Javier and his family as they navigate life without him.
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