I still remember the time in high school PE, when the sport of the day was indoor soccer. I volunteered to be the goalie. I was like "cool, I don't have to run around much". I was on cruise mode, then all of a sudden, one of the big football guys kicked the ball towards my goal ---- "oh ****, being a goalie wasn't as easy as I thought!"
I have just found out that classmate Francis JE Silva has just passed away! So far, what I heard (PLEASE correct me if any details are inaccurate) was that he got a heart attack and was in a coma.
Mr Silva, because he was big for his age, seemed intimidating at first. But he's a cool guy. Even the smallest member of the football team (hint, hint) told me nothing but positive things about Mr Silva!
Rest in peace, and condolences to your family Mr Silva!
The above was the facebook message I sent last night after finding out that Francis (aka Sammy) Silva passed away.
This sent shock-waves throughout the McKinley High School alumni community.
As I checked the various facebook messages about Mr Silva, the one thing keeps coming up: He is known as the "gentle giant" ..............
...........(Unless, of course, you're at the wrong end of his indoor soccer goal)
Seriously though, Mr Silva was good person. He loved to play around and joke with people, but it was all in good fun. I have never heard a single complaint about Mr Silva from my high school peers.
One of my close friends (Aaron G. -- who happened to be the smallest guy on the football team) told me that when him and Mr Silva were teammates, Mr Silva was his protector.
Mr Silva was a lineman on the football team and a team captain of the 1997 season. Silva, Solo, Viliami, Aukuso, Charlie, Imi, Mostella, Dae (and a few others I might've forgotten) were all stars on the best team McKinley High School had when I was a student there. The team had a hard act to follow after they graduated.
I also remember being in the audience at one of the team's games at Aloha Stadium, me and another student noticed how calm Mr Silva was, while another player was expressing his anger with full-blown rage.
Mr Silva also played on the school's basketball team as well.
The last time I met Silva in person was his high school graduation. He was a grade-level ahead of me, so I was just in the audience congratulating him.
Years later, after I graduated high school, I was at a McKinley football game, me and Aaron G. noticed that Silva was one of the coaches on the sideline. However, we never got a chance to get up close to meet & greet.
I did connect with Silva on facebook and we were on each other's friend's list, but we didn't chat much. But it did give us a chance to see each other's status updates, which by itself is a valuable thing.
Then sometime last year, Silva posted a video on facebook. One of his legs was amputated and there was now a prosthetic leg. It was rumored (please correct me on any inaccuracies) that it was due to diabetes. It was freaked out many of our former classmates that one of the most physically strongest classmates was now in that condition.
And now, to find out that yesterday, first that he was in a hospital due to heart-attack/coma and a few hours later, passed way.
Words can't express how tragic it is! You can't take life for granted!
