EWING — Alex Bautista was dealt a bad hand, but he never once complained, his family and friends said. After 8½ months of battling malignant brain tumors and cancer, the 22-year-old died Friday, leaving the Ewing community grieving.
"He always kept everyone around him laughing," said Alexis Serrano, 21, who counted Bautista among her tight-knit group of friends. "No one had anything bad to say about him. Everyone loved being around him and made sure they were around him."
Bautista was diagnosed last July. He would always fall asleep and fainted one day while working at Pete's Steakhouse in Ewing, Serrano said. He had surgery to remove the tumors, but the cancer spread and his health deteriorated. His hearing began to go and his vision became blurry, Serrano said.
He was at Capital Health Medical Center-Hopewell until Thursday, when he was moved to hospice.
"He never complained about being sick," Serrano said. "He never wanted people to talk about him being sick."
Bautista graduated from Ewing High School in 2011. He was voted class flirt and was known for walking around school with a gold chain with his phone number on it, Serrano said.
Bautista, who was the starting center for the school's football team, was named a captain his senior year. The Blue Devils' 2015 season will be dedicated to him and no player will wear his number, 78, for as long as Drew Besler is head coach. The flag that is carried out onto the field before each game will also bear his name and number.
"He made a huge impression on me. ... He made you want to stay here and made you want to work here," said Besler, who was an assistant coach when Bautista was on the team. "This shouldn't happen to any kid, but this one stings a little bit more just because of the person he was and the impact he made in such a short amount of time."
Besler, who was at the hospital Friday with the family, also had Bautista in his public speaking class and said he had a big personality.
"He wasn't afraid to get up in front of his peers and be himself," he said. "It was very easy for a classroom filled with high school students to gravitate toward a kid like Alex."
Serrano said she would always remember his humor and infectious personality. She said those who knew him are taking his death day by day.
"We can't really believe it because we're all so young," she said. "To lose somebody at this age is surreal."
One of Bautista's longtime friends started a fundraiser on GoFundMe.com to help cover his burial expenses. Any additional money raised will be donated to the high school's football program in his honor.
The funeral Mass is 11 a.m. Tuesday at Incarnation Church, 1545 Pennington Road, Ewing.
Editor's Note: This story has been updated to include comments from Ewing High School football coach Drew Besler.
Cristina Rojas may be reached at crojas@njtimes.com. Follow her on Twitter @CristinaRojasTT. Find The Times of Trenton on Facebook.