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Salem family’s dream lost in son’s death

A young artist killed in stabbing carried hopes of many

October 1, 2005
By Tracy Loew

Reprinted with permission of the Statesman Journal.

Tiburcio and Rufina Gabriel sit in folding chairs in their driveway, mourning what should have been.

Neighbors, friends and relatives come and go through the open garage door, adding to the sanctuary that fills much of the garage. Flowers, candles, pictures and notes pay tribute to 16-year-old Juan Carlos Gabriel — his family’s miracle, their pride and their promise for the future.

Juan Carlos was the last of eight children, born 10 years after his closest sibling. His parents call him their miracle because he came soon after his oldest brother, then 22, died in an accident.

They gave him his brother’s name, Juan, and doted on him.

Juan Carlos did not let them down. He was the first of their children to attend school in the United States and, despite struggling with English, showed early promise. By the eighth grade, his teachers at Waldo Middle School nominated him for a prestigious program that puts talented students on the road to college. Last month, the McKay High School sophomore told his mentors that he had decided to be an engineer.

On Sept. 23, however, shortly after his 16th birthday, Juan was stabbed to death near his northeast Salem home. Authorities have not identified the teenage boy who attacked him.

Some neighbors say the stabbing was gang-related, but those who know Juan say he was not a gang member. Instead, they say, the boy nicknamed “Happy” could not understand the harm in hanging out with youths who got in trouble.

Some people say he wanted to help them turn their lives around.

“He wasn’t a bad kid, but he was hanging with the bad kids,” said Tim Killefer, his middle school math teacher. “The association cost him his life.”

Family’s long journey

For 23 years, Juan’s father, Tiburcio Gabriel, traveled to the Willamette Valley each spring, working the fields while his family stayed in Capacho, Michuacan, Mexico. He would spend six months in Oregon, then six months at home.

“It was not much money,” Gabriel said in Spanish. “So I started to stay the entire year. But I didn’t like the long time away from family.”

Gabriel had become a legal immigrant in 1986, and in 1997 he decided to move his family to Oregon.

Juan Carlos was 8 years old, and didn’t want to move, his mother said. So his father tricked him.

“He said, ‘We’ve got these green cards. Let’s just go see if they work.’ Then he said ‘Why don’t we just check out Oregon,’” Rufina Gabriel said in Spanish.

The family lived in Woodburn for a few months, then moved to Salem. Juan attended Highland Elementary School until the fall of 1999, when his parents were able to buy their small house on Arbon Street and he moved to Washington Elementary School.

His mother said Juan was frustrated because he couldn’t speak English but was determined to catch up with his classmates.

“He said ‘I will speak and write it better than they do,’” Rufina Gabriel said.

Though he was a good student, Juan often got in trouble for talking in class. He told his parents, “I love to talk about how much I’m learning.”

At Waldo Middle School, Juan excelled at soccer. He also fed his passion for art. He would finish his homework during school so he could spend the afternoons drawing, his mother said.

In eighth grade, Juan was selected to participate in Willamette Academy, a college-preparatory program for low-income, minority youths with promise. The program is sponsored by Willamette University.

Though his first year at McKay was difficult, Juan faithfully attended Willamette Academy’s study sessions, monthly meetings, and annual retreats.

“He wanted to have a real career and profession to provide for his family so they would be proud of him,” said Paula Sams-Ingle, an assistant director of the program. “Juan was very aware that they had made a sacrifice for him and wanted to pay tribute to that.”

Last month, Juan returned early from his family’s annual visit to Mexico in order to attend the weeklong Willamette Academy retreat.

He spent the remaining weeks before school started working with his uncle at Bountiful Farms nursery in Woodburn.

Juan gave his first paycheck to his mother, and spent the second on school clothes.

“He was very proud. It was the first year he was paying for them all by himself,” his mother said.

“This is a man who was definitely going to beat the odds, I was sure,” said Elaine Green, the Willamette Academy director.

Wrestling with grief

Juan’s Willamette Academy class held its monthly meeting Sept. 24, the day after his death.

“We had to break the news to them,” Sams-Ingle said. “We spent the day writing letters to his family and talking with grief counselors who came in from the university.”
Sams-Ingle said she will most remember Juan’s artistic talent.

“Juan was always very thoughtful about his work. He had an incredible eye for beauty and was a great artist,” Sams-Ingle said.

McKay High School set up a safe room where students can go to talk and designated an area in the library to decorate and put up pictures and notes about Juan. The school has run a fundraiser all week to help with funeral expenses. On Friday, the school held a moment of silence for Juan during a pep assembly.

Principal Cynthia Richardson asked students not to decorate hallways or bring signs to classes or assemblies.

That rule has upset some students. Some were asked to move decorations they had made for Juan’s locker into the library, and others were unhappy that a sign they had made for an assembly was confiscated.

Some students reportedly stormed out of the assembly after a poster was taken down.

The prohibition is the standard practice in Salem-Keizer schools but is especially important at McKay, where tensions are high, spokeswoman Mary Paulson said.

Many Waldo teachers have gone to the site where Juan was stabbed, and plan to attend the memorial service. Some are cooking meals to take to his parents, and two instructional assistants have prayed with the family each night since his death.

“We have a lot of teachers who are very emotional about it. Some teachers were crying Monday morning,” math teacher Killefer said.

About 50 students attended a viewing at the funeral home Wednesday night, and many more are expected at the funeral today.

“He was just a really talented and creative and intelligent young man,” said Will Bragg, who tutored Juan.
Bragg has created a Web site and blog dedicated to Juan.

Juan’s family say that they worried about Juan but never imagined something like this happening.

“We told him not to go out, to stay home,” said Juan’s sister Virginia, 28. “He was a kid full of dreams. This was not fair.”

Willamette Academy News Archive

Fall 2007— Academy Sends Off Graduates, Welcomes New Director (from The Scene)

Summer 2007— Paving the Way (from The Scene)

July 18, 2006 - June 18, 2007 — A Year in the Life: Willamette Academy (an continuing story by Sarah J. Evans)

Oct. 10, 2005 — Salem family’s dream lost in son’s death (from the Statesman Journal)

Jul. 22, 2005 — Streams get some TLC (from the Statesman Journal)

Nov. 16, 2004 — Willamette Academy Awarded $75,000

Sep. 1, 2004 — College preparatory program wins grant (from the Statesman Journal)

Feb. 20, 2004 — Classified Staff Supports Willamette Academy (from Inside Willamette)

Oct. 15, 2003 — Mini dose of college (from The Collegian)

Sep. 26, 2003 — WU Program Receives $1 Million (from the Statesman Journal)

Fall 2003— Donation Brings a Million Opportunities (from The Scene)

Mar. 23, 2003 — Blueprints for diversity (from the Statesman Journal)

Feb. 17, 2003 — The Monday Profile: Champion of Diversity (from The Oregonian)

Fall 2002 — Willamette Academy Offiers Bridge to Students of Color (from The Scene)

Aug. 10, 2002 — Two-week camp exposes life in higher education (from the Statesman Journal)

Aug. 9, 2002 — University helps kids make grade for future (from The Oregonian)

Jun. 1, 2001 — Willamette Receives Grants to Establish Programs for Ethnically Diverse Students