By: Lily Fraser

Jack Splitt was a boy of many colors.

He was known for his smile and laugh. He always wanted to be involved with activities around the school with his classmates. On Wednesday, Aug. 24, at 15 years old, Jack passed away. Wheat Ridge High School was devastated, from staff who took care of him and taught him math, writing, and science to the peers who knew Jack from primary school.

Brian Deeds, special needs teacher, was by Jack’s side since Jack was a freshman. As Deeds replied to questions about Jack, the emotions overflowed, and it was seen in his facial expressions and posture. Deeds took Jack to a firehouse in the spring of 2015. He got to get a tour, meet the crew, and even spray the firehose. Deeds had never seen Jack so happy.

To Deeds, Jack’s smile and humor was what made Jack an extraordinary kid. He always smiled at people and made jokes to make them have a better day. Jack loved to participate in class of all aspects of classwork to socializing with people. He loved being around people and adored every moment.

“I miss him being around,” Deeds said. “He was a very neat kid and very nice. He just somehow made your day whenever he was around.”  

Jerry DiTullio, special needs teacher, adored Jack, not only as a student but as a genuine person as well. DiTullio’s favorite memory of Jack was when he worked on a project for English his freshman year. Jack’s assignment was to make a poster, put his face on it and write about his ambitions and goals for the future. Meagan Noe, deaf and hard-of-hearing program teacher, worked closely with Jack and still has the poster in her room. The heart-warming thing about this was that Jack wanted to be just like any other teenager in high school. But, unfortunately, Jack suffered from cerebral palsy, which sometimes made that impossible. However, people still treated him like a normal teenage boy in high school. “We’ll miss him. Hopefully, he’s in a better place. I’ll never forget him,” DiTullio said.

Courtney Nelson is a senior here on the Farm, and she was a teacher’s assistant in Jen Marquez’s seminar during seventh period with Jack. She said that his smile spoke words and was one of the greatest things to look at during the day. When she would spark a conversation with Jack, he would have the widest grin on his face the whole time she and other students would pay attention to him.

“He was a little cutie and he loved talking to girls and flirt with them,” Nelson said. Even though Jack couldn’t speak back to Nelson, she could tell he was enjoying the conversation by the way he tried to interact with her.

Hearing the words and comments directed towards and about Jack are heart-warming and they make you feel the love towards this 15-year-old boy who had a condition that affected him. But it never got in his way. Deeds had many adventures that he remembers like it was yesterday. DiTullio will never forget his sweet smile that he wore everyday throughout the school day. And Nelson will always remember Jack interacting with her and sharing the smiles, jokes, and few attempts at flirting with girls.

To the people who may not have known Jack Splitt, he was a teenage boy who had cerebral palsy, a congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone, or posture and a severe case of dystonia, involuntary muscle contractions that cause repetitive or twisting movements.  Because of the medical condition, his mother, Stacy Linn  fought with lawmakers of Colorado to create a law to help deal with the painful side effects that came along with his disorder. Linn created the law called “Jack’s Law,” which requires schools to allow the parents of students prescribed THC medication allowed on campus and deliver medical marijuana to their children who are included on medical marijuana lists. Jack used medical marijuana patches to help reduce his pain. It was later passed in June, 2015 by Gov. John Hickenlooper.

Jack’s influence will always be known on the Farm, whether it be from his smile or from the interactions with students and teachers who knew him. He will stay in the hearts of many, such as Deeds, DiTullio, Baxter, Nelson, and even the hundreds of teenagers who knew and heard about the young boy named Jack Splitt.