Police Officer Isaac Anthony Espinoza

Dear Carol,

I just wanted to share with you that I graduated WHS w/Isaac. Although we weren't friends that hung out, we shared many jokes and laughs in the classes we had together. There was never a dull, quiet moment in class with your son (I'm sure you know), and for that we all felt blessed.
'Isaac' means laughter, which he lived up to every single moment of high school. Junior year I remember he had to give a presentation in Mr. Schneider's class, and he got up there, made sure his hair was right, wrote his full name on the board, 'Isaac Anthony Espinoza', there was a long silence and you can clearly see that he was unprepared to give a presentation, so what he did was stand there and crack jokes.
Another time I can remember we were all in the cafeteria taking the PSAT exam. Most of us were pretty much done with the exam, so we were told to sit there and be quiet as the others finished. It was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Out of the blue you hear a fist pound on the table and someone yell from the top of their lungs, "I CAN'T TAKE IT ANYMORE!!!" It scared the living crap out of everyone, until we all noticed it was your son, then we all just roared in laughter.....Mr. Johnson didn't even mind. He just told him to calm down and be quiet if he was done. Had it been any other student who had that outburst, I guarantee that person would have been disciplined and sent to Rm. 7!
I digress......What a charm your son had, and the first thought that came to my mind was how lucky you are to be this person's mother. Always the life of the party (and class), full of laughter and quick wit; I wondered it must be like that at home as well. From reading all of these reflections, I was right. I hoped that one day I would be so blessed as you and your husband to have a son like Isaac Anthony. In August of 2000 my husband and I were blessed with our own Isaac Anthony, and you know what? My son is funny, charming, handsome with a full head of his own thick beautiful 'perfect' Isaac hair, and he's very quick-witted. When he was around 7 he said he wrote a paper saying that he wanted to become a police officer, my heart dropped. But he was 7, so what could I do but encourage that idea? As his mom, I wasn't gonna be his dream killer. When he got older I told him where his name came from and who this man was, and what he meant to the lives of whom he touched. He was filled with pride which he carries with him to this day. He has proudly written many class essays about his namesake.
I thank you and your husband for raising such an upstanding man that meant so much to not only his family, but to his community. He was the stuff of legends, truly! My Isaac no longer wants to be a police officer, but he does aspire to join the Air Force and become a pilot. I never got to thank you, so now I am. To you, your husband, Regina, Renata & Isabella, thank you for sharing your Isaac with the world. Our lives were all made better, because for a time, a very very short time, he was a part of it!...and that has made all the difference in the world.

J.Lorenzo
WHS Class of '92

July 18, 2018