Health & Fitness
On the Anniversary of His Death, I Am Remembering Dustin Villarreal
Five years after his passing, I remember Dustin Villarreal and the days after his shocking and sudden death.
It all started with that sudden, unexpected phone call. I was just leaving church with my family on an ordinary Sunday morning, when my phone rang. It was one of my best friends, Eric Strauss. I was expecting a usual phone call about hanging out with the group, or grabbing some lunch. I was not prepared to hear the shocking news. Dustin Villarreal had died that past night.
It’s been five years since his death, but I still remember the following days. Immediately after the news broke, I joined with my Geneva football teammates at the high school. There I was, in a room packed with a few hundred people, and there was not a dry eye. It was an absolute shock to a room full of high school kids.
A teenager is not supposed to die. You hear about death on the news from horrible violence, or terrible disease, but this isn’t supposed to happen to a teenager.
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I didn’t know Dustin all too well; I had seen him around and worked out with him occasionally during offseason lifting. What I remember best about him was how he was just an all-around nice kid. That’s why gathering the day after his sudden death was so hard for me and everyone else in the room.
As a 15-year-old in high school, I, like many others, felt invincible—like nothing bad can happen. There I was, nearing the end of my sophomore year, and ready for my first season of varsity football. Everything was great.
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It was then that I learned how precious life is.
The next day was one the toughest days of school ever. By then, word had spread throughout the school. My first-hour teacher entered the room in tears as the difficult day began.
Later in the day, Dustin’s visitation was held at —just a short trip from . I’ll never forget that afternoon.
The entire football program gathered in two long lines, and walked slowly along State Street to the funeral home. We wore slacks, a button-up shirt and tie, and a Geneva football jersey.
As we walked up to the funeral room, I was amazed by the long line. People were waiting for hours in the parking lot to enter the funeral home—a fitting statement about what kind of a person Dustin was.
The team entered the funeral home as one, as hundreds surrounded us. We each paid our respects to Dustin, before one incredible emotional moment. The entire team joined as one to sing the fight song.
The fight song is symbolic of victory in many ways. It’s played after each Geneva touchdown, and after each game—win or lose—the team gathers near the main bleachers at Burgess Field to sing the fight song.
Singing this rendition of the fight song was unbelievably difficult.
As a team, we continued to honor Dustin over the course of the season. Our senior captains began a tradition of pre-game prayers at Dustin’s gravesite. We played that season in Dustin’s memory, with the goal of winning the state championship.
Dustin’s memory now lives on in the Geneva football program, and in the community. The Villarreal family runs the Dustin Villarreal Memorial Foundation, which awards a $2,000 scholarship to two outstanding Geneva High School students who show leadership, team cooperation, community service, and character.
When Dustin was taken from the world so soon just five years ago, it came as an incredibly sad shock to the community. His memory now lives on in Geneva, and will live on forever.
For more information on Dustin’s story and how you can donate to the Dustin Villarreal Memorial Scholarship Fund, visit www.dustinvillarrealmemorialfoundation.org.