A Life Too Short

Sorrow filled the small church house Saturday where an estimated 400 mourners laid to rest Matthew Lapidario Aragon, a promising 15-year-old whose life ended in a bizarre gun struggle with his best friend last weekend.

During the funeral service, relatives and friends fought back tears as they fondly recalled the sophomore from John F. Kennedy High School in La Palma.

“Matthew left his footprints on our hearts,” Father Angel Jaballa said during the service. The mourners who filled the church at Forest Lawn Memorial Park responded with applause when he asked: “Isn’t this a day to celebrate his life?”

Ron Aragon’s eulogy for his son evoked both tears and laughter.

Matthew Aragon loved music, the father began. A rambunctious Filipino teenager, he loved to dance and deejay at friends’ parties. His greatest passion was playing the clarinet in the school band.

The youngster with blond-tinted hair was a competitive athlete. He grew up racing in local swimming meets and playing water polo.

Most of all, Matthew Aragon aspired to become a member of the Navy SEALS, his father recalled. The teen loved aircraft, assembling airplane models and quizzing his uncle, a naval officer, about his work.

“He was an ace in all he did,” Ron Aragon said of his son. “That’s why I recently took him to golf lessons with me. I thought he could be another Tiger [Woods]. I needed to find out. But he told me one day, ‘Daddy, this game is too slow. No more Tiger.’ ”

The crowd laughed. But tears were shed, again, as Ron Aragon continued.

“I spent last night and the night before in his bedroom. I touched his things. I listened to his music. I slept in his bed. Then I realized that he would never have the opportunity to speak before you all. Given the chance, he would say, ‘. . . Be my friend, stay with me,’ ” the father said, sobbing.

The service proceeded to the grave site where the Kennedy High School band performed several songs, including “Amazing Grace.” Some classmates hung their heads as they listened. Others embraced one another, weeping in disbelief.

“He was always such a happy person,” said Arthur Han, Aragon’s friend since the third grade. “Most of us can’t believe this happened to him.”

Throughout the burial, Aragon’s younger sister, Camille, clung tightly to her mother. The 13-year-old had lost her only sibling.

“Matthew touched so many lives,” said Joe Dudek, the school’s assistant band director. He described Aragon as a rising musician who helped the band place first in a local competition Oct. 4, a day before the teen was fatally shot.

“At one moment, when we won the award, we all were at the top of the world. Then, 13 to 14 hours later, everything seemed so wrong,” Dudek said.

According to police, Matthew Aragon was with his best friend last Sunday when they began to quarrel. A loaded .22-caliber handgun was drawn and the two wrestled over the weapon in Aragon’s bedroom. Aragon was shot in the head, and later died at a local hospital.

The friend, an Artesia High School student, is being held at Orange County Juvenile Hall. The district attorney’s office recently filed involuntary manslaughter charges against the 16-year-old.

But Aragon’s family said it does not want to prosecute.

“What happened was a tragic accident,” said Theresa Motol, Aragon’s aunt. “No one is to blame.”