She remembered his big brown eyes and bright singing voice, and mourned the darkness left by his death.
In a touching farewell letter to her slain son, Newtown mother Cindy Mattioli offered her heartbreaking recollections Tuesday of a 6-year-old boy’s tragically too-short life.
“Thank you for lighting up the world with your smile,” the choked-up mother read at a funeral for first-grader James Mattioli. “James, I want you to know we love you.”
As the family and their friends gathered to bid the boy farewell, shattered Newtown teachers and students returned to their classrooms and a small bit of normalcy.
The Sandy Hook Elementary School, where James and other 19 students and six staffers were slain with an assault rifle, remained closed Tuesday — and might never reopen.
The Mattioli funeral was followed rapidly by the sad service for classmate Jessica Rekos, 6, inside the same Newtown church.
James was remembered at St. Rose of Lima as an athletic boy, known to his family as “J.” He loved baseball, swimming and basketball — along with singing and a good hamburger.
“I love that you loved school so much,” his mother said in her touching eulogy. “You were a great swimmer, never tiring of the water, and I was so proud of you.
“I loved that you love hamburgers. I do, too.”
Cindy Mattioli recalled the day he was born, four weeks and one day prematurely, and all the days up until the killer walked inside his classroom last Friday.
“You knew from the start that you loved fresh air and being able to run,” the mom said. “You were an early riser, James. Almost always at 6:30, without fail. You couldn’t wait to get dressed and ready to go.”
The little boy was hailed as his father’s helper, his older sister Anna’s best friend, and his mother’s confidante.
“Thank you for letting me always curl on the couch with you and have a chat before bed about what we did today and what tomorrow would hold,” she said.
The boy’s casket followed 10 priests down the aisle of the church, with his parents and sister walking behind.
The second service remembered fellow first-grader Jessica, who loved horses — and was promised a pony of her own on her 10th birthday.
“She wanted cowgirl boots — real cowgirl boots, not ones from Target,” said her mother, Krista. “And she wanted a cowgirl hat, and it had to be black.
“Santa was going to bring those things next week.”
Jessica was the oldest of three children, leaving behind two confused kid brothers who wonder where their beloved sister has gone.
“She was a great big sister,” her mom recalled. “She was teaching Travis how to read … when her life was cut short. She was beyond excited when I had Shane in April. She begged for any chance to hold, feed and play with her baby brother.”
One day earlier, the first funerals for the 20 murdered first graders were held. Die-hard Giants fan Jack Pinto and classmate
Noah Pozner, both 6, were buried Monday after emotional services.
All were killed by Adam Lanza, 20, a Newtown resident who murdered his mother in their home before taking her car and driving to Sandy Hook. The mass murderer killed himself to end the carnage.
On Tuesday, Pete Muckell, 52, dropped off his 13-year-old daughter at the middle school and his 8-year-old at the Hawley School as the New England town of 27,000 continued taking small steps forward to normalcy.
“I told her I loved her,” Muckell said after leaving his younger daughter, Shannon. “I kissed her. I told the teacher, ‘Just take care of these guys.’ He said, ‘We got it.'”
In the background, a police car with its lights flashing stood vigil near the school.
Early arrivals driving up to the Head O’Meadow School were stopped by a police officer who made sure everyone inside the vehicle belonged at the building.
