KEKAHA — It takes a village to raise a child. The Westside community who watched over Max Agor — a happy kid who “loved life” — said goodbye Monday, eight days after the 18-year-old Waimea High School senior died from
KEKAHA — It takes a village to raise a child.
The Westside community who watched over Max Agor — a happy kid who “loved life” — said goodbye Monday, eight days after the 18-year-old Waimea High School senior died from injuries sustained in an early morning one-car crash.
Hundreds of mourners gathered at St. Theresa’s Catholic Church in Kekaha, packing every seat inside, forming an almost-impenetrable human ring around the building and standing in a visitation line so long it could have easily stretched to the sea and beyond. Directly across Kaumuali‘i Highway, community members had made a memorial with a cross, balloons, flowers and notes at the site of the wreck.
“Aunty Darla” Higa, a close family friend who delivered the eulogy, insisted that “tragedy” was not a word that should ever be used to describe Max, who was always sporting a “pearly white smile.”
After making her remarks, Higa organized for those closest to Max — his teammates on the baseball and football teams, teachers, referees, umpires, coaches and even opponents from Kaua‘i High School — to squeeze into the church “to show how special Max was to the community.”
“We are all supporting each other. It’s not about one person or one team. It’s about all of us together,” she said.
Waimea Athletic Director Jon Kobayashi said in a phone interview last week that Agor “was a well-liked young man in the school community. It’s a tragic loss when you lose someone so young. He was a great athlete, and more importantly, a great person.”
Waimea High School Principal Larry Kaliloa agreed, saying Agor was a “terrific athlete, a good student, and a very nice young man.”
“We are trying to figure out what we can do for our students. The kids need closure, and sometimes through school we try to do something,” Kaliloa said in a phone interview last week, noting administrators were considering a school-wide assembly and one-on-one counseling. “We are trying to think how we can help our kids out when they come back because they’re going to be going through a lot of mixed emotions even when they come back to school.”
Waimea High School has been on spring break since before the accident and does not reopen until April 6.
Many Waimea students and others in attendance wore black “Max 7” shirts or armbands, or white shirts reading “in memory of Max Agor” and emblazoned with “2EZ,” as Max was known to joke things were “too easy.” A large sign in front of the church read “A hui hou Maxie Boy. You are forever in our hearts.”
In front of a small assembly of students before the ceremony, Higa said, “I want you guys to learn from Max.”
The unstated hope — voiced by others in attendance — was that young drivers will avoid the temptation of drinking alcohol before getting behind the wheel. A county statement released the day of the accident said “speed and alcohol may have been contributing factors in the crash,” but county spokesperson Mary Daubert said Monday that no toxicology screen had yet been conducted.
Max Agor’s family includes parents Bert Sr. and Vicki Agor, brothers Bert Jr. and Evan Patrick Agor, grandparents Esther Agor and Irvin and Mary Beth Eichenseer, uncles Bernie and Calvin Agor, and long-time girlfriend Taryn Makale‘a “Maka” Chow, who suffered injuries in the accident and attended the funeral on crutches.
The couple’s infant son, Kailer Kaheleikealapono Chow-Agor, cried intermittently throughout the visitation. At one point, he was held up to the crowd holding a sign reading “My daddy is a hero.”
Though Kailer will grow up without his father, the Westside’s caring families are set to provide the loving support he needs.
A scholarship fund has been created in Max’s name. Donations can be sent to the Menehune Booster Club in care of The Agor Family, P.O. Box 328, Kekaha, HI 96752.
