Alex Teves
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Whether he was running through obstacle courses at a Tough Mudder competition or interning at a school for students with special needs, Alexander C. Teves saw life as an adventure.
“Alex will be remembered as an intelligent young man with a passion for living life to the fullest,” said Mary Gomez, a counseling psychology professor at the University of Denver and one of Teves’ graduate advisers.
Gomez said Teves was a compassionate, positive person.
“His top priority was his relationships. His loyalty is admirable and he always put his friends first,” Gomez said.
The 24-year-old Phoenix native earned a master’s degree in counseling psychology in June.
He was a lovable person who made friends quickly and had a lot of them, said his grandfather, Carlo Iacovelli of Barnegat, N.J.
As a boy, Teves moved from New Jersey to Phoenix with his parents. Iacovelli and his wife lived there during winters there and spent a lot of time with him.
“He was what you might call an ideal grandson,” Iacovelli said. “He was a fun guy. He loved to eat.”
Teves was planning to become a psychiatrist, his grandfather said.
“He had a lot to look forward to,” Iacovelli said.
Alex Teves, a 24-year-old man originally from Arizona, is being identified as one of the victims in the Aurora movie theater mass shooting early Friday morning.
Teves was living in the Denver area, after graduating from the University of Denver. The university released a statement that said:
“It is with great sadness that we share with you the tragic loss of a recent graduate student, Alex Teves, in the senseless shooting at an Aurora movie theater early Friday morning.
“Alex, a Phoenix, Ariz., native, graduated in June of this year with an MA in Counseling Psychology within the Morgridge College of Education.
“Our deepest condolences are with Alex’s family and friends, including the many current students and faculty who knew and worked with Alex.
“This tragedy can be difficult to understand and members of the DU community are encouraged to use the resources available through the Office of Student Outreach and Support, Michael.Johnson259@du.edu or 303-871-4724.”
ABC News reported that Teves went to see ‘The Dark Knight Rises’ with his girlfriend Amanda and a friend named Caitlin.
Teves’ father, Tom Teves, told ABC News that his son had blocked his girlfriend from a bullet when he was himself shot and killed
His father told ABC that he would do anything to save his girlfriend.
A Twitter feed that appears to belong to Teves’ friend, Caitlin, highlighted her hopeful search for her friend in the movie theater following the aftermath of the shooting.
“Shots fired in the theater…” read one tweet, followed by “…I’m outside, one of my friends is inside. No one knows what’s going on.”
Caitlin, @dingos8myTARDIS, continued to thank followers for prayers as Alex remained missing.
“Alex didn’t make it,” Caitlin tweeted Friday. “Alex Teves was one of the best men I ever knew. The world isn’t as good a place without him.”
She described him as being an Arizona basketball fan and that he “died a hero.”
Other Twitter users tweeted notes in memoriam of Teves as news spread that he was one of the victims claimed in the shooting that killed 12 people.
Teves’ father told ABC that he had “a heart of gold.”
Our sister station, KNXV, learned that Teves’ family, living in Phoenix, flew to Colorado after the shooting.
A next door neighbor of the Teves family noted that she had known Alex since he was a young child and that he has two younger brothers.
An Arizona man who was among the Colorado movie theater shooting victims was cremated this week, as his father remembered him as having a gift for defusing tense situations and a “heart of gold.”
Alex Teves and 11 others were shot and killed Friday in Aurora, Colo., at a midnight showing of the latest Batman movie, “The Dark Knight Rises.”
Teves, who grew up in Phoenix and graduated from an Arizona high school and college, died while shielding his girlfriend from the gunfire. His father, Tom Teves, said his wife did not get a chance to say goodbye before their son was cremated because he didn’t want her to see the badly wounded body.
“He was one of the kindest kids who always gave of himself,” Tom Teves told the Arizona Republic. “You won’t find anyone who has a bad word to say about him, and that was true even before he died.”
[The shooter] is accused of opening fire on a theater, killing the dozen people and injuring 58. He is due to be formally charged at a court hearing scheduled Monday in Colorado.
Tom Teves said he was on vacation in Hawaii with his wife and two other sons when they got the news from Alex’s girlfriend, who was hysterical. Alex Teves recently earned his master’s degree in psychology and was planning to become a physical therapist, his father said.
The younger Teves served as a mentor at the University of Arizona in Tucson and at the University of Denver. One of the people he mentored contacted the family this week saying that Alex Teves had set him on the right path, changing his life.
“Alex had the heart of a lion,” his father said. “He had a heart of gold, too. He marched to the beat of his own drummer. He never was concerned about being cool.”
Tom Teves added: “At 18, he was a better man than I am at 52. Even in death, he is teaching me.”
The Valley said its final goodbyes Saturday to 24-year-old Alex Teves of Ahwatukee, one of the victims of the mass shooting inside a Colorado movie theater that happened a little over a week ago.
The memorial service was at the Corpus Christi Catholic Church in Ahwatukee Saturday at 11 a.m.
Our cameras were not allowed inside but afterward, the parents of Alex Teves, Tom and Caren Teves, stood side-by-side holding their son’s ashes on the steps of the family church while they spoke to news crews.
“Alex loved everybody,” said Tom Teves,
Other friends we caught up with outside the church told us Alex Teves had, “A great smile,” “Was warm and friendly,” and was, “Always a super kid.”
“The fact that he took a bullet for his girlfriend, I mean, how many people would ever do that?” said Lynn Pettit.
It’s undeniable that Alex Teves made a lasting impression on everyone he met through his life. He even influenced his friends’ wardrobes when he was a teenager at Desert Vista High School in Phoenix. His family told us he would only wear a white T-shirt and blue jeans to school. At the memorial Saturday, most of his friends and his parents were wearing a white T-shirt and blue jeans.
“Alex and I took Spanish together in high school,” said high school friend Alex Tighe. “We would have days where that was standard, mandatory attire for the class.”
Tom Teves said Saturday, “He decided he didn’t want to spend a whole lot of time figuring out trivial things of what you want to wear to school. He wasn’t very vain. He was more interested in relationships.”
And those relationships that Alex Teves built led to a full chapel inside the church. We were told that a couple hundred people attended.
In the midst of their loss, Alex Teves’ parents encouraged everyone to value every moment we share.
“We might all want to take a step back, love our kids,” said Tom Teves. “The next time we want to get angry at somebody, maybe we think twice.”
After the memorial at the church, some of Alex Teves’ friends also gathered for a memorial at Desert Vista High School.
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