NORTHAMPTON — A soft rainfall and chilly air weren’t going to extinguish the hundreds of candles lit on Friday night in memory of Jesse Johansmeyer, a Florence teenager who died tragically last week.

At the vigil, held at Childs Park, more than 100 current and recently graduated Northampton High School students showed up to pay their respects to Johansmeyer, who was remembered by friends and classmates as a warm, humorous kid who liked to play sports and put a smile on other people’s faces.

Johansmeyer, 19, died in an apparent hit-and-run in which he was struck by a white pickup truck after a bonfire party in Hatfield on March 24, according to the Northwestern district attorney’s office. The case remains under police investigation.

“He would always call you just to call you, or text you just to text you,” said Eddie Sarafin, 19, who had been friends with Johansmeyer since their time together at JFK Middle School, and who helped organize Friday’s vigil. “He was always just an amazing human being.”

Sarafin said the idea for the candlelight vigil came in a text conversation with Ryan Wise, 19, another member of his and Johansmeyer’s friend group. Text group chats were quickly organize and set up to spread awareness of the event.

“We started contacting the family [of Johansmeyer] and they started helping us out,” said Wise. “It’s just amazing that we are able to do something.”

A minute-long moment of silence was held in honor of Johansmeyer, with friends and acquaintances invited to write down some of their favorite memories. They could also scan a QR code to upload any pictures or videos of Johansmeyer to be shared.

Lucas Halstead, 19, said Johansmeyer was for him “the closest thing to a best friend.”

“I consider him family,” Halstead said. “He was so genuine about everything. And he didn’t care who people were. He just treated everybody like he had known them forever.”

An adventurous, outgoing young man, Johansmeyer played hockey and lacrosse during his time as a Northampton High School student. He was known for performing stunts like cliff diving and doing backflips, for the sake of entertaining others. His enthusiasm sometimes inspired others to pursue the same interests.

“A lot of the main things I do in my life all kind of started with him,” said Colin Morini, 19. “He was always there for me, we were always doing random stuff and going to random places.”

For others, Johansmeyer’s death brought a sense of anguish, questioning how his life could have been cut so short, and why there had been no arrests made yet in the case.

“I feel like the one thing that this has brought to light is just how temporary happiness is, and how actually fleeting it can be,” said Calvin Paddock, 18. “This is just something that shouldn’t happen, especially to someone who has their entire life ahead of them. No one deserves this.”

In addition to the vigil, a celebration of life for Johansmeyer is planned for Saturday, May 13, from noon to 6 p.m. at the Hadley Young Men’s Club.

Anyone with information about the incident should call State Police or Hatfield police at 413-247-0323.

Alexander MacDougall can be reached at amacdougall@gazettenet.com.

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