Even breaking his leg didn’t phase Jimmy Guenther, a youngster friends and family remember as upbeat and loving despite having muscular dystrophy and using a wheelchair.
“He would tell everybody, ‘I have good news and bad news — the bad news is, I broke my femur; the good news is, it doesn’t have to be fixed because I don’t use it,’” recalled him mom, Kelly Guenther.
About 50 friends, family and former classmates gathered recently to remember Jimmy during a special ceremony to mark the planting of three trees near the entrance to Southeast School in Evergreen Park. Red balloons were released — Jimmy’s favorite color — and local fire and police departments showed up to pay tribute, along with Evergreen Park Mayor Jim Sexton.
The school originally marked Jimmy’s 2005 death with a ceremony including a tree planting as well as the installation of a bench. After the original tree planted in memory of Jimmy recently was cut down due to disease, an effort to replace it ensued.
Though classmates conducted a fundraiser to pay for the trees, the village stepped in and donated them. Money from the fundraiser will go the Muscular Dystrophy Association instead.
“He was the kind of child who when you met him, you left with a smile on your face,” Guenther said. “He was very witty, very smart. Everybody wanted to be around him.”
Jim Guenther, Jimmy’s father, said his son never let muscular dystrophy define him.
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“He never acted like there was anything wrong, he just wanted to live life, and between his mother and I, we found ways to modify almost any activity so he could join in,” Jim Guenther said.
That meant Jimmy got to be a mascot at local sports events, throw the first pitch at baseball games and go fishing with his parents and two twin sisters. Jim Guenther said he applauded his son’s former classmates and school officials for helping remember his son.
“It’s very important to remember the happy times because there were more of those than the sad times,” Jim Guenther said.
Karen Clausen-Hayes, Jimmy’s third-grade teacher at Southeast School, 9800 S. Francisco Ave., said he “fit in with the whole class and was liked by everyone.”
“He was an outstanding reader and did really well at school,” Hayes said.
Tim Daker, one of Jimmy’s close friends, said he missed “just hanging out, having a good friend.”
“I liked that even though he was in a wheelchair, he was just a normal kid,” said Daker. “He didn’t use his disability as an advantage to get certain things.”
Kelly Shine, one of Jimmy’s former classmates, who helped organize the June 7 ceremony, said Jimmy was not only immensely popular at school but had an big impact on the community. Her original fundraising goal was $300 but in four hours more than $1,356 was raised.
“It really warms your heart and that’s where you know you’re in a community, when the community comes together to support and remember someone who was so loved,” Shine said.