Photos of Rex Patchett are displayed during a Celebration of Life at Paradise Pointe Park in Henderson Friday, March 11, 2022. Patchett, 13, was killed by a motorist who lost control of his car in front of Mannion Middle School on Monday, March 7.
Saturday, March 12, 2022 | 3:12 p.m.
Hundreds gathered at Paradise Point Park in Henderson Friday evening, playing volleyball, cornhole and other outdoor games to celebrate the life of a boy who was fatally struck by a speeding driver earlier this week near an area middle school.
Rex Patchett was on his way home from Mannion Middle School, in the 100 block of Paradise Hills Drive, shortly after 5:15 p.m. Monday when he was struck by a speeding black 2006 Ford Mustang that lost control, according to Henderson Police. Patchett was declared dead at the scene. He was 13.
On Thursday, police arrested Jose Marmolejo, 21, on one count of reckless driving resulting in death. Impairment is not considered a factor in the crash, and police have not indicated publicly how fast Marmolejo was driving.
Despite the tragedy, those who knew Patchett through school or the Church of Jesus Christ Latter Day Saints say he was a happy-go-lucky kid who tried to befriend everyone who crossed his path. He was also an avid sports fan who played everything from basketball to kickball and idolized Philadelphia Phillies megastar and Las Vegan Bryce Harper.
“He just meshed with kids of all ages,” said Sam Gilek, Patchett’s uncle as well as a Henderson firefighter. “It didn’t matter what kids he was hanging out with, what ages they were. He just fit right in.”
Danielle Parkson, whose son Logan played on the same basketball team as Patchett, remembered him as a quiet and reserved kid, but had an inherent ability to make others laugh. The loss of Patchet leaves a hole in the community, but he seemingly impacted everyone he met, she said.
“He was just a good kid, like the kind you would sit in class with and be like, ‘I need that kid in my class because he’s gonna be one of the good kids,’” Parkson said.
Patchett’s longtime childhood friend, Dylan Sellers-Estes echoed much of the same.
Sellers-Estes said the two met when they were in kindergarten. And it didn’t matter which sport they played, Patchett would be one of the best.
“If you were with him, you’d always have a good time,” Sellers-Estes, 14, said. “He was always the best of the best in any sport that we played. He’d always carry us and help us get wins. He was just a super good person.”
Part of Patchett’s athletic prowess, relatives said, came from his towering 6-foot-1 frame.
Rodney Burr, Patchett’s grandfather, remembers his grandson would always try to stand on his tiptoes to appear taller than him, until a recent growth spurt where it was Burr who had to stand on his toes to keep up.
Gilek, however, said despite his nephew’s height Patchett was a gentle giant.
“I don’t think he ever knew that he was that much bigger than all of them,” Gilek said of Patchett’s two brothers, Travis, 18, and Luke, 16. “He could have kicked their butts at any time, but he never did. We always teased him that he was a lover, not a fighter.”
Aside from Travis and Luke Patchett, Rex’s other immediate family — which was not in attendance Friday — includes sister Bella, 11, as well as parents Jason and Samantha, according to an obituary posted online.
A GoFundMe started by one of Patchett’s relatives to pay for funeral costs and remaining medical bills from a stint he spent at Mayo Clinic last year to remove benign tumors from his mouth has raised $51,880 of its $50,000 goal as of Saturday afternoon.
“It’s just been amazing, the outpouring of support we’ve seen from this community,” Burr said.
A funeral for Patchett will be held Monday with visitation lasting from 9:30-10:30 a.m. at the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, 400 S. Water St., in Henderson. Burial will be at Palm Mortuary, 800 S. Boulder Highway, also in Henderson.
“Rex would just find a way to make everyone laugh,” said Bryce Nelson, the Patchett family’s bishop, adding the response from the community shows just how tight-knit it is.
“It’s just a testament to what wonderful people the Patchetts are. They’re a very resilient family.”
