Alex Delor and Johnny Harof, both 18, had just started to embrace life to the fullest, their parents say.
They both graduated from Collins Hill High School and recently enrolled at Georgia College & State University, in Milledgeville, as freshmen. Their parents say they were acquainted in high school, but were becoming better friends since graduation.
Wednesday night Alex and Johnny climbed into a friend's car for a midnight run to Wal-Mart. On the way back to campus the car crashed, just after 1 a.m. Thursday. Alex and Johnny died Thursday, from injuries sustained in the crash. The investigation is still ongoing, police said Monday.
Funeral services for Alexander “Alex” David Delor, were held Saturday at 12Stone Church in Lawrenceville. Crowell Brothers Peachtree Chapel Funeral Home, was in charge of arrangements.
A funeral mass for John “Johnny” Joseph Harof, was held Monday at St. Lawrence Catholic Church. Tim Stewart Funeral Home was in charge of arrangements.
Both young men made more friends in the six weeks they were in Milledgeville than their parents could have imagined.
“There have been so many people we don’t know who have written us notes or told us stores about Johnny,” his father John Harof said.
Alex’s dad, David Delor, said he lost count of the number of students he’s met, who say his son was an inspiration.
“Some of his friends made a collage of his last few months,” Mr. Delor said. “And I looked at it and wondered, ‘Who are all of these girls, and why is he smiling so much?’ But you could tell he was having a good time.”
Since Johnny was a child, he’s wanted to build bridges, Mr. Harof said.
“I told him engineers and architects build bridges, and we talked about what that would mean he needed to learn in school,” his father said. “He said he liked the sound of that and he stuck with it all his life.”
During an orientation Johnny found out about a program between Georgia College and Georgia Tech that would have been perfect, his dad said.
“So many things were happening, good things,” Mr. Harof said. “This is just so hard to understand.”
The last time Mr. Harof communicated with his son was via text messaging. Mr. Harof needed some advice on Facebook etiquette, and he thought Johnny could help.
“I told him I was concerned about something that was being said about a young lady,” Mr. Harof said. “So I asked Johnny if I should say something to her or her parents. He told me, ‘There’s a lot you still have to learn about Facebook, dad.’”
Alex was “turning into a man very quickly,” his father said.
“I had a chance to tell him how proud I was of him,” Mr. Delor said. “I had a chance to talk with him about the important things in life.”
Mr. Delor said he knows his son was listening because the changes were reflected in one of his first college essays. Alex emailed a draft of the essay to his parents on Aug. 30.
“I’m sending you a copy of it because I think you and dad would like it,” Alex wrote in the email to his mother. “It's supposed to be about my past present and future.”
In the future, Alex writes that his goal is to die without any regrets, “proud of the life I have lived and proud of the legacy I have left behind.” The last sentence of the essay says, “But most importantly, I just want to live and die knowing that I had a life full of happiness.”
“He did that,” he father said through tears. “He did exactly what he set out to do.”
Alex is also survived by his mother, Michele Delor of Lawrenceville; sister, Sydney D. Delor of Lawrenceville and brother, Nicholas W. Delor of Lawrenceville.
Johnny also survived by his mother, Toni Harof of Lawrenceville, and sister, Taylor Harof of Lawrenceville.
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