Jack Corral unexpectedly died at 17 years old on July 15.
Senior Mete Berkoz remembers Jack as a funny guy he has known since they did Boy Scouts together at 9 years old.
“He was just really easy to talk to. That’s what made him super, super likable,” Berkoz said.
He said Jack’s humor was sharp, witty and always delivered at the right time.
“No one had a sense of humor like him,” Berkoz said.
Along with his humor, English teacher EK Pearson, who taught Jack in his junior year, said one of his defining characteristics was his smile.
“When he smiled, it wasn’t just with his face, and it wasn’t like an ear-to-ear ‘I’m happy’ smile,” Pearson said. “It was from within, and it just had such authenticity to it, but it also had just a sprinkle of this wry humor, which really just touched me every time.”
Pearson said Jack also had a deep love and passion for all types of music.
“If blood wasn’t in his veins, it was music,” Pearson said.
Berkoz said Jack was a supportive friend who complemented and encouraged his friends to pursue their strengths.
“If you had something good, he could point that out and be like, ‘Yeah, you could be really good at this thing. Keep doing it,’” Berkoz said.
As well as being encouraging, Berkoz said Jack was always the friend who took the lead with their group when nobody else would. Berkoz described one evening when Jack organized a sleepover where their group of friends went to a movie and traveled from restaurant to restaurant as places closed, eventually ending up at McDonald’s.
Senior Lily Mesmer got to know Jack during freshman year band camp. She said her first impression was that he had a big personality.
“He definitely would make jokes to try and make people laugh,” Mesmer said. “He made sure that you were included in what we were doing.”
Mesmer described Jack as welcoming and inviting, especially to new marchers joining the band. She said he knew how to make people feel comfortable and always knew how to lighten the mood.
“There was never a dull moment with him,” Mesmer said.
Pearson said Jack had a magnetism that made others feel safe and laugh.
“Whether that was just an innate quality of his or just something conscientious that he did, he was always very approachable and accepting of others,” Pearson said.
She also said she could see there was joy emanating from Jack in anything he did. Pearson said she noticed this when he was performing in a football halftime show in the band, despite him being far away from the stands on the field.
“He just brought a joy and an energy to the things that he did,” Pearson said.
Pearson remembers where Jack sat in the classroom, on the left side of the room at the middle table. At his table, she said Jack had an edgy sense of humor with his peers that made them laugh, but he also acted as “mother hen,” getting everyone back on track.
“He was naturally curious about the things that we were doing, and was innately driven to do well,” Pearson said.
Mesmer remembers when Jack did a silly walk during band or when they put the guys’ hair in pigtails on the way to a band performance at Kansas State University. Beyond the laughs, Mesmer said Jack was someone who really listened and validated others’ feelings.
“He would know exactly what to say and would always be there for you,” Mesmer said. “He really cared about everybody else.”
Berkoz said Jack had great advice and was always someone he relied on. Whatever the problem was, Berkoz said Jack knew how to help.
“Close people kind of knew him as the one that you could always go to if you had any problem at all, and he would know how to solve it,” Berkoz said.
For anyone struggling with grief or loss, call or text 988 for immediate mental health support available 24/7.
