BELTON, Texas — Today at the Crossroads Church in Belton the community celebrated the life of Joe Ramirez after he was fatally stabbed in school last week. It was a tough day for a lot of people, especially his family and friends who remember his exceptionally special smile.
"His beautiful smile," James Sandoval, a good friend of Joe's told me. "Everyone knows him for having a beautiful smile and he just got his braces off like, like two [or] three weeks ago and he was happy. It brung out his smile even more."
So many people today spoke fondly of Joe, his sister lamented over his patience and caring attitude when she tried to give him advice.
His mother recalled the struggles of trying to wake him up in the morning for school only for him to stay asleep after all her efforts.
His baseball coach Tia McKee remembers the ball of energy he was on the diamond. "I remember giving him the bunt sign all the time and he would always miss it," McKee said. "I'd have to yell at him 'Joe, bunt!' and everyone would know he was bunting. I guess he just wanted to hit a homerun all the time."
Football teammate and friend since sixth grade, Adam Vazquez took great pride in not only being Ramirez's friend, but also being his offensive lineman, his protector.
"My favorite memory honestly with Joe was football," Vasquez told me. "I met Joe when I was weighing in at 300 pounds as a lineman and they were like your job is to protect him and I was like alright, bet."
There's no doubt that Joe touched so many people, and his warm and infectious fun-loving attitude resonated with everyone who knew him.
"It's been tough, but I feel better knowing he's in a good place," Sandoval told 6 News.