Barrington High School mourns senior claimed by leukemia

Barrington High School students worked with grief counselors Monday as they tried to come to terms with the passing of senior Martin Garcia.

Garcia died Saturday, just four weeks shy of graduation and one year after being diagnosed with acute myelogenous leukemia, or AML. He was 17.

“He really was focused on being with his senior class and making it to his graduation,” said Monica Barreiro, a school counselor who delivered Garcia’s diploma to his family on Monday. “That carried him through this long and painful journey.”

As students learned Monday of his passing, they sought out grief counselors as well as administration members in dealing with their grief.

“It’s been an emotional day,” said Jeff Arnett, chief communications officer for Barrington Unit District 220.

Leading up to his senior year, Garcia had been involved in sports, playing community baseball every summer and having had played football in junior high school.

More recently, he had been active with the Latinos Unidos club at Barrington High School, as well as with his church, Iglesia de Cristo in Long Grove, where he played the drums during services.

It was a year ago this month that Garcia was diagnosed with the aggressive type of cancer. According to Sophie Freuh, school nurse at Barrington High School, he underwent chemotherapy and in September had a successful bone marrow transplant from an unrelated donor.

However, he relapsed in January and began another round of chemotherapy in hopes of stemming the disease.

When his illness returned, Garcia kept up with his schoolwork at home, through District 220’s homebound tutoring program, as well as by taking some courses online. In March, he asked to return to school.

“He just wanted to be as normal as possible,” Freuh said. “He wanted to be back at school so badly, even if it was only for one or two days a week.”

She described how his friends would have lunch with him, and how they regularly organized parties and fundraisers for his family.

Garcia’s last day at school was Wednesday, officials said, and even though he appeared tired, he still had a special spark.

“He was so full of life and energy, in light of all these obstacles he had to overcome,” Barreiro said. “He was just a special kid.”

Martin is survived by his parents, Martin and Hilda of Barrington, and a younger sister.

Visitation will take place from 2 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at Ahlgrim Family Funeral Home, 201 N. Northwest Highway in Palatine. A memorial service will take place at 7 p.m. Thursday at Iglesia de Cristo, 83 Arlington Heights Road in Long Grove.