Teen continues to be honoured 25 years after his death

More than two decades after his death, a Regina teen continues to leave a legacy.

Christian Alphonso died in 1998 only a year after he was diagnosed with cancer.

His best friend Daniel Gardiner met Christian in Grade 9 at Thom Collegiate, and said they immediately became best friends.

He described Christian as the life of the party.

Daniel Gardiner speaking to students at Thom Collegiate. (Lindsay Newman/980 CJME)

“Boy, he was amazing. Very talented,” Gardiner said.

Only a year after the two met, Alphonso lost his health and energy, and that’s when they found out he had cancer.

Gardiner said the diagnosis never stopped Alphonso.

“His optimism, his energy, he wanted to be a part of everything that was going on and he was just fantastic,” Gardiner said. “He was someone you just always wanted to be around and was just a great example to our friendship.”

Speaking to students at Thom Collegiate, Gardiner called Alphonso a silent hero.

“You really didn’t hear the complaints of what it was like to go through chemo and lose your hair,” Gardiner said.

During an assembly at the school, Gardiner explained that he missed a lot of school to be with Alphonso and take him to appointments.

He said the vice principal at the time told him that if he missed one more day of school that he wasn’t going to graduate, but he told her they had plans to go on a snowboarding trip that weekend.

“I had to say, ‘Mrs. Metz, I have one trip left with Christian,’ and she looks at me and looks at Laurel and she said, ‘This is the last trip,’ ” Gardiner said.

He later told the students that he felt that she saw the bigger picture.

“She probably knew that it was going to be some of Christian’s last experiences, and that ended up being his last snowboard trip with us,” Gardiner said.

Gardiner occasionally became emotional while speaking about Alphonso.

“As time passes, unfortunately, memories tend to get a little foggier, and so this was just a great week as I knew I was going to be here to be able to just ponder on some of those just really special experiences we had as teenagers,” he said.

Thom Collegiate started its Beat Cancer fundraiser in 1998 after Alphonso was diagnosed to help raise money for his family so he could go to treatment in Vancouver.

Now, the money goes towards the Cancer Agency of Saskatchewan.

Gardiner said Alphonso would have been proud.

“He probably would’ve been a little bit shy and embarrassed by this, to have the attention to him, but it’s well earned and I know he was here in spirit,” Gardiner said.

Gardiner and his wife Laurel said they decided to match what the students raised, which was more than $17,000.

The total raised this year was $34,849.80, likely making it a record year for donations for the school.

Gardiner said Monday is a special day, because it’s Alphonso’s birthday. He would have been 44.