Karla Leon was the first person to see Allan Gonzalez come into the world.

Karla was providing support to her aunt, Maria Delgado Gonzalez, as Maria gave birth to her first child in a hospital in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Only Karla, Maria and a doctor were in the hospital room when Gonzalez was born March 2, 1997.

No one can replace Gonzalez, and nothing compares to who he was, Karla said Friday. It was a day before family members attended a funeral for Gonzalez in New Jersey. Family, friends and community members who knew Gonzalez were there.

Gonzalez, a Syracuse University senior, was found dead Thursday after accidentally falling into Onondaga Creek in downtown Syracuse. He was 22.

“It’s very, very difficult for a mother to bury her son, but I’m at peace because I knew that he lived a full life,” Maria said. “Anything he wanted to do, you name it, he’s done it.”

Maria and Karla said Gonzalez, a systems and information science major, was intelligent, humble and caring. He was a loving brother to his two sisters and was proud of his family’s Ecuadorian roots, they said.

Gonzalez’s cousin Jay Leon holding Gonzalez as a baby. Courtesy of Karla Leon

He lived in Queens, New York until he was about 3 years old, Karla said. When his father, Jeffery, arrived in the United States from Ecuador, Gonzalez’s family moved to New Jersey. They’ve lived there ever since.

Karla remembers Gonzalez as a toddler finding creative ways to escape his play tent and undo the seatbelt of his high chair. He was always very clever, she said.

Jaime Leon loved everything about Gonzalez, his cousin. He helped raise Gonzalez as a toddler while Maria worked and Jeffery remained in Ecuador. He’s heartbroken.

“I saw him walk his first steps. I saw him grow,” Jaime said. “We were very close.”

Gonzalez was talented and could sing and play the guitar, saxophone and piano, his cousins said. He was good at sports and loved basketball and lacrosse. A fan of Star Wars, he had a poster of one of the movies in his dorm room.

He wanted to work in computer science and was set to graduate from SU in May.

“He wanted to succeed in life and be a good role model for his sisters and cousins and extended family members,” Karla said.

Maria said her son would tell her that everything she taught him served a purpose while he was at college. She showed him how to pay bills and to cook, and he was able to live on his own because of his parents’ guidance, she said.

Few students really use their college years to transform as a student and a person, but Gonzalez did, said J. Cole Smith, dean of the College of Engineering and Computer Science, in a statement.

“I know his advisors were proud of the steps he had made to earn a degree from Syracuse. We are devastated that he passed away before we could celebrate that accomplishment with him,” Smith said. “Our community in Engineering and Computer Science is determined to honor his memory.”

Gonzalez’s family hopes to honor their relative with an honorary degree. Karla spoke with Smith, and the family planned to submit a request on Friday.

Though he was smart and talented, Sharon Giron said she wants Gonzalez to be remembered as a genuinely nice person who was always there if you needed him.

Giron dated Gonzalez on-and-off for about 5 years. The two went to prom together, and he attended her graduation. The couple got back together while Gonzalez was in college, and they spoke almost every night last semester, Giron said.

He was a caring boyfriend who always knew what to say, she said. When Gonzalez visited Giron in December, he took care of her while she was sick.

“He was my person, and I was his. We always came to each other for advice, to show our emotions, to express our emotions to each other,” Giron said. “He always pushed me to do better.”

Gonzalez taught Giron to be patient and never give up, she said. Giron described herself as “kind of awkward” and said Gonzalez helped her open up and make conversation with others.

He mostly taught Giron how to be herself, she said. She could be genuine around him, and she knew he would accept her as she was. They both understood each other, she said.

Gonzalez with his sister Amber. Courtesy of Karla Leon

Giron has a lot of memories of Gonzalez that she cherishes. Laughing together. Going on walks. Watching movies.

But her favorite memory is from the last time she visited him at school. The two were excited to see each other, and Gonzalez had decided that he wanted to make a spinach pie. Giron thought it would be fun, too.

“We bought the ingredients, we came back home and we tried our best, and it actually looked amazing,” she said. “It was his favorite.”

The last time Karla saw her cousin was Jan. 5. She said she’s glad that everyone in the family gave Gonzalez a big hug before he went back to college. The family will miss him dearly, she said.

“This isn’t a definite goodbye, this is ‘we’ll see you, we’ll definitely see you up there,’” Karla said. “You were definitely a good kid, and we will miss you.”

Published on February 2, 2020 at 10:32 pm

Contact Emma: esfolts@syr.edu