A foundation, a promise and a 20-year-old's name is alive
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As Jim and Helene Leona go about their daily lives in the Hamilton area, their son Nick Leona is always on their minds.
How could he not be?
He was only 20 when he died of a heroin overdose a year ago today. For them, and his sister Alyssa, remembering Nick will never fade.
But what keeps Nick alive in the community are a series of "little things."
Like when Helene spots memorial wristbands bearing her son's name on a young person in line ahead of her at a store.
Or when a patron picks up their tab at a local restaurant because they know the Leonas and they clearly know what happened. That happened this past fall.
Or when the couple and their daughter participated in a Recovery Advocates fundraising walk last fall under the name Team Leona. They hoped some others would join them.
About 90 people showed up to join them in walking for Nick's memory, astonishing them.
"As dark as the days are sometimes, there is always a light," Helene said.
Those little things, "They're big for us."
Nicholas James Leona lived life large, and it might be easier, maybe, to deal with their grief in private, and quietly move on, they say.
But that would not be the Nick way. Whether it was baseball, and all the extra batting cage time, or just life, Nick Leona was a 100 percent-effort kind of guy, his family says.
Nicholas Leona passed away on July 22, 2017. (Family photos)
"So for us, we just push forward because that's how he lived," Helene said.
Pushing forward has another side to it, too.
That's where family friend, and Nick's godfather, John Rossi plays a major role.
He's been the thrust behind the tangible, visible way Nick lives on -- a foundation, a website, and accompanying Facebook page.
And a few weeks ago, the Nicholas James Leona (NJL) Memorial Fund made its first donation -- $1,000 to the Hamilton High School West Baseball Boosters. (Nick starred for Hamilton West.)
It's part of a public pledge Rossi made last year, to the Leonas and NJ Advance Media, in the story of Nick's death.
He's delivered.
Rossi, the Leonas and others close to them are all involved in the effort, but Rossi is the engine.
He joked this week about the "homework" he gives Helene. "I am relentless, I call her almost every week," he said, in a lighter moment.
"Everybody has a role in this. These are friendships over 35 years, and I know I was his godfather, and will be for the rest of my life. But this is my family too, it's my job and my calling," Rossi said of the foundation and the work to keep Nick's spirit alive.
But, he cautions, "It's never about me"
"It's always about Nick, and (the Leonas)," Rossi said. "We're gonna see this through and make this happen."
Hamilton High School West baseball coach Mike Moceri, left, accepts the first annual check from Helene and James Leona for the Nicholas James Leona Memorial Fund in June 2018. (Michael Mancuso | NJ.com)
The work they've done creating and fundraising for the foundation has kept them involved in an epidemic that seems to be getting worse statewide and nationwide, but for their circle of friends, it's been an eye-opening after eye-opening experience of breaking through.
More little things.
Like when Rossi's sister's daughter won $50 in a drug awareness poster contest and donated the prize to the Leona foundation. "She's now 11. It shows she's been educated about this," Rossi said.
Or when Jim, Nick's father, was tracked down after the baseball booster dinner, when they made the check donation.
"Jim, Jim," he recalls the man saying, tracking him down as he walked out the door. Jim wept at the microphone that night, and this father did too.
"The guy was crying about me having enough courage to talk in front of people," Jim said.
It might seem embarrassing to some, Jim said, to talk about your child's addiction -- which turned fatal.
It's not, and it's worth it.
"This is what keeps me driven, when you see you're helping other people," Jim said.
"For us it's been a nonstop type of year, and all of it's been near and dear, and we're really going to keep everything going," Jim said.
Rossi said it's the "if we can reach one person" mentality.
They'll take any opportunity to reach that one person about heroin, or drugs in general. For example, anyone reading this story.
And they're ready with their message:
"This is not a drug you can try. It's Russian roulette. If you want to try heroin, it may be your last day," Rossi said.
Says Alyssa, "Not everyone fits a stereotype of a heroin addict." Ask questions, deal in truth. "It's important for me that I tell people the truth that my brother died of an overdose -- he was a heroin addict."
"(We) just want to help other people, so that they never have to go through what we've gone through," Rossi said.
Today, it's a year. They plan no end.
This is how Nicholas James Leona lives on.
For more information about the NJL Memorial Fund, click here.
Kevin Shea may be reached at kshea@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter@kevintshea. Find NJ.com on Facebook.