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James "J" Radley Mattioli
March 22, 2006 ~ December 14, 2012
James' bell is C5. When C5 rings, we remember a six-year-old boy with large brown eyes and boundless energy who was full of love, happiness, curiosity, and a sweet affection for his big sister, Anna. He wrestled his Dad on the floor, jumped off tall objects, and cuddled with his Mom. James loved school, his friends, and being outside.
James loved spending time outside with his father, Mark. "Shoes" and "outside" were among his first words.
James was a "curious and wonderful" 6-year-old, said Annette Sullivan, the owner of Zoar Ridge Stables in Sandy Hook.
"James would come to the stables with his sister, who would often ride at Zoar Ridge, and he always had lots of questions," said Sullivan.
"He would ask about the saddles and the brushes. He wanted to know how to take care of the horses. He was a boy that wanted to know how everything worked," said Sullivan.
His mother, Cindy, said that James' first teacher was his older sister, Anna, when they played school together. He was the perfect student and he was able to grasp math well beyond his years. She recalled how James loved to sing, sometimes loudly, sometimes in the shower, and sometimes quietly to himself in bed before falling asleep.
After fondly recalling everything that made her little man so special, his heartbroken mom thanked him for lighting up the world with his smile.
"James was a casual boy, who loved wearing shorts and a T-shirt and spiking his hair with gel," Monsignor Robert Weiss recalled during the eulogy.
"Among James' loves were basketball, baseball, diving, hamburgers with ketchup, Subway sandwiches and his father's bacon and egg sandwiches.
"James always wanted to know when he would be old enough to do something," Weiss said.
"Now everyday is a homerun, a three-point shot, the perfect dive and there are no more training wheels," the pastor said as the church fell silent.
James will never be forgotten. A bell for James will always ring at Christmas.