AJ Boik
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Alexander Jonathan Boik, 18
Boik, known as AJ, graduated earlier this year from Gateway High School in Aurora, his family said in a statement. He was accepted to Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design and planned to be an art teacher and open his own studio.
He attended the movie with his girlfriend, who survived the attack, the family said. She was not identified.
A friend, Jordan Crofter, described Boik as someone who “didn’t hold anything back. He was just his own person.”
“He was a ball of joy. He was never sad or depressed. He wanted everybody to be happy,” Crofter told The Associated Press.
Alexander “AJ” Boik was confirmed Saturday as one of the 12 people killed in a shooting rampage at an Aurora movie theater Friday morning.
Boik graduated from Gateway High School this year where he played baseball, said a family friend.
In a statement the Boik’s family said he “was a wonderful, handsome and loving 18-year-old with a warm and loving heart.”
“He enjoyed his friends and family and always brought a smile and quick wit to every occasion. He was a talented young man who enjoyed baseball, making pottery and music,” the family said.
Boik had planned on attending the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in the fall.
His dream was to become an art teacher and open his own studio, his family said.
“He was dating a beautiful young lady who was with him at the time and we are blessed that she survived the incident,” the family said.
“AJ was loved by all that knew him. We want to try and focus on the beautiful lives that were ended and not the evil that is responsible. This is a time for us to remember our loved ones and cherish the memories we have of them,” the family said.
Sheri Ames said she came to a Saturday night vigil to support Boik’s family. She cried, saying, “Eighteen years old, I mean, life’s just beginning. You know, there’s just no fairness. At all. It’s just not right.”
Mariah Farrow was shocked by the news. She says she attended the same high school, and frequently enjoyed the Aurora Mall theater. She says the theater was a place for good memories, but the event has been a horrific shock.
“You just never think that it can happen so close to home. Somewhere you’ve spent countless times at. It just, it blows my mind,” she said.
Another friend, Jordan Crofter, described Boik as someone who “didn’t hold anything back. He was just his own person.”
“He was a ball of joy. He was never sad or depressed. He wanted everybody to be happy,” Crofter told The Associated Press.
Crofter said Boik played baseball from when he was a child through his junior year in high school.
He said Boik and his girlfriend were the “perfect couple” and people expected them to get married.
“If he were still here, he’d try to make everyone have a positive outlook of the situation and not allow it to affect their outlook of life,” Crofter said.
A “Remembering AJ Boik” page has been created on Facebook.
Alexander J. Boik, an 18-year-old known as AJ, had a reputation for making people laugh and tried to bring back the mullet hair cut in his freshman year of high school.
“He tried to rock the mullet,” said Tyler Lynch, 20, who played baseball with Boik on their high school team.
Boik, a catcher who played on the team through his junior year, had recently graduated from Gateway High School in Aurora. He also played in the school orchestra.
He was to start classes at the Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design in the fall. Gateway principal Bill Hedges said Boik planned to become an art teacher.
A friend, Jordan Crofter, described Boik as someone who “didn’t hold anything back. He was just his own person.”
“He was a ball of joy. He was never sad or depressed. He wanted everybody to be happy,” Crofter said.
The family said in a statement that the 18-year-old was loved by all who knew him and was dating “a beautiful young lady” who was with him at the theater and survived.
Crofter said Boik and his girlfriend made a “perfect couple,” and people expected them to get married.
“If he were still here, he’d try to make everyone have a positive outlook of the situation and not allow it to affect their outlook of life,” Crofter said.
The funeral-goers began weeping almost as soon as they stepped into the church. Near the sanctuary entrance was the open casket of Alexander J. Boik, a recent high school graduate who loved pottery and baseball and dreamed of teaching art.
Better known as A.J., Boik was one of the 12 people gunned down a week ago during a late-night screening of the new Batman movie here. His funeral Friday at Queen of Peace Catholic Church, where he’d been baptized and received his First Communion, was a poignant remembrance of a teenager on the cusp of manhood.
Boik, 18, had sandy hair, a thin mustache and some stubble on his chin. He was buried in a black jacket and shirt and purple tie. He’d played catcher on his high school baseball team, so a mitt had been placed in his casket. There was also a marker of his future plans: a certificate of admission to the Rocky Mountain College of Art + Design.
Boik’s peers, some attending their first funeral, grew red-faced and teary at the sight of their friend. As they walked into the sanctuary, they saw two large photos of Boik in his cap and gown, reminders of his warm smile. They were handed cards with Boik’s picture and a poem that encouraged them not to wallow in grief:
Do not stand at my grave and weep;
I am not there. I do not sleep.
I am a thousand winds that blow;
I am the diamond glints on the snow.
Nearly 1,000 people attended the funeral; Boik’s casket was closed before the service began and covered with a white cloth. Many mourners wore something purple, Boik’s favorite color. Even Gov. John Hickenlooper donned a purple tie.
Hickenlooper shared some anecdotes with the crowd that he’d learned from Boik’s family and girlfriend. When he mentioned that Boik, a catcher, was best friends with his pitcher, several teenagers started sobbing.
“We are a better community because you lived among us,” Hickenlooper said.
In his eulogy, Boik’s uncle John Hoover recalled a spirited teenager who enjoyed playing viola, skateboarding, spending time with his girlfriend and cracking jokes. Right now, Hoover said, “I know he’s making a funny face and trying to make the rest of us laugh.”
Hoover said Boik had a warm presence and could charm his way out of trouble. He made friends with students from across the social caste system, and to honor him, “dedicate yourself to making a new friend today,” Hoover said.
Boik came from a close-knit family, said Hoover, who’d asked Boik to be his son’s godfather. Boik was particularly close to his grandfather Bill Hoover.
“My dad has not only lost a grandson, but his best buddy,” John Hoover said.
Bill Hoover sat at the end of a pew of family members, their heads bowed for much of the service. At one point, mourners on their way to take Communion stopped to touch his shoulder and whisper words of comfort.
Hoover acknowledged them, and then returned to softly singing with the crowd:
And he will raise you up on eagle’s wings,
Bear you on the breath of dawn,
Make you to shine like the sun,
And hold you in the palm of his hand.
The church sanctuary where AJ captivated everyone’s attention one last time has an honest quality to it; the pews, positioned in a complete circle, force a face-to-face interaction that breaks through barriers in what seems like one giant, communal embrace.
That would have pleased Alexander “AJ” Boik, the loving 18-year-old whose vivacious life ended a week ago in an Aurora movie theater and who was laid to rest on Friday.
“He’s not a big guy, but had a huge personality,” said John Hoover, AJ’s uncle. “His personality allowed him to move in diverse circles.”
Even in his casket, AJ — situated directly in the circle’s center — managed to bring a diverse group of people
together
The funeral mourners at Queen of Peace Catholic Church in Aurora covered a wide demographic swath — in age, race, influence and religion.
He was friends with “geeks, jocks, band members, and teachers,” Hoover said in his eulogy.
None of those differences mattered in the sanctuary, where more than 1,000 people created a black and purple patchwork quilt. While black is the traditional color of mourning, purple was AJ’s favorite color.
His casket sat open in the church foyer prior to the service. The crowd must have known how to connect with AJ — he, too, wore a black suit and a shiny, purple tie.
His peers — who are old enough to understand the day’s finality but young enough for this to potentially be their first encounter with death — approached their friend’s body with some trepidation.
Some stood 10 feet back, some gazed painfully into his face, and others placed their hand on his for their final contact with AJ. The stoic silence was broken when a young man — wearing a purple shirt — crumpled into a family member’s chest, wailing. The break in emotion freed up others to bear their grief more publicly.
Cinthia Martinez, 18, after standing at a distance for several moments, her eyes fixed on AJ, walked directly up to her former classmate’s casket and placed her favorite necklace around his hand.
“A priest blessed it and it was something I wanted him to have,” Martinez said.
Resting on top of AJ was his certificate of admission at Rocky Mountain College of Art and Design — representing a dream and talent cut short long before it came into full fruition.
Funerals serve two purposes, said the priest, the Rev. Marty Lally. First, it is a time to embrace loved ones in our care. Second, it is a time to remember a life.
“You are surrounded by a community of care here in Aurora,” Lally said to the family.
This sentiment was echoed by Gov. John Hickenlooper, who spoke briefly “on behalf of five and a half million Coloradans.”
The family members, sitting in the front row, closed their eyes and nodded each time the speakers mentioned AJ’s infectious smile, the community support or the power of kindness.
“Children are supposed to bury their parents and grandparents, not the other way around,” Lally said, looking at Theresa Hoover, AJ’s mother, and Bill and Susan Hoover, AJ’s grandparents, and his brother, Wil Boik.
Bill Hoover, a former Air Force officer, who sat anchoring the family row, was said to be especially close to his grandson AJ. They were “best buddies.”
AJ’s girlfriend Lasamoa Cross, 19, sat at the other end between her two parents, clutching a baseball cap.
Bill Hoover read scripture, and AJ’s uncle, John, delivered the eulogy, stirring laughter with funny memories of AJ. His free spirit, John said, can — and always will be — felt around him.
“He has passed on so much joy to us all,” he added. “And he will always fill my heart with joy.”
There were passion and hopefulness to AJ’s approach to life.
“He was willing to do anything to make someone laugh,” John Hoover said. “What he really brought to the world was goodness.”
Through the laughter and memories, he challenged the crowd to live more like AJ.
“Go out and make a new friend today,” he said.
Read more:1,000 attend funeral of AJ Boik, killed in Aurora theater shootings – The Denver Posthttp://www.denverpost.com/theatershooting/ci_21177172/1-000-attend-funeral-aj-boik-killed-aurora#ixzz22LNSEkYk
Standing behind two large framed pictures of her father, 17-year-old Brooke Cowden emotionally recounted how her dad spent his final hours that day teaching her the country two-step dance before taking her and her 16-year-old sister Cierra to the movie.
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