Elkins Park School celebrates the life of one lost
Susanna Kathryn Ellie Alexander DeLaurentis died in November after a battle with a rare disease. Her school remembered her March 11.

By Daniel J. Serbovitz
Staff Writer

The students walked into the Elkins Park School March 11, shaking off the cold rain and seeking refuge from the gray, unforgiving skies.

As they entered the gymnasium, they were confronted by a poster filled with pictures of Susanna Kathryn Ellie Alexander DeLaurentis, a 10-year-old fifth-grade student at the school who died in November after a lifelong battle with a rare form of neuroblastoma.

Accompanied by parents, the students gazed at the pictures not with dour, saddened spirits, but with fondness and nostalgic contentment. Soon their voices would become imbued with glee, the air filled with giggles and laughter.

"What I don't want this to do is make people think about any of the negatives, because this is really about celebration, it's a celebration of Susanna's life," said Elkins Park Principal Joe Kircher.

With the assistance of magician John Cassidy, a stack of trick cards, animal-shaped balloons, a rabbit and a dove, the children spent the day with smiles on their faces and playful mirth on their minds, in observance of the positive impact DeLaurentis had on their lives.

"It's to give back to the community in her honor," said Patt Wolfe, a relative of DeLaurentis who organized the first Susanna DeLaurentis Annual Children's Program. Wolfe said she hopes the annual event will transcend the current fifth- and sixth-grade students at Elkins Park School.

As Cassidy entertained the children, DeLaurentis' grandmother, Greta Alexander, sat quietly, watching. The event, she said, was something her granddaughter would have appreciated. "She was a very, very unusual child," Alexander said. "She had a wonderful sense of humor. I think its nice, it's inspiring."

The celebratory air of the program was a trait of DeLaurentis, who was characterized as extremely mature and selfless for her age.

Her father, Michael, said she was able to lead her life in spite of her disease, and did not allow it to control her life. "She really put it out of mind, incredible, all she was going through," he said. "All she wanted to do is help others."

DeLaurentis' memory still resonates throughout the school. It endures through a memorial consisting of photos and memorabilia including her desk in her homeroom at the school, the Friendship Club started by her homeroom teacher Doug Johnson, and in the memory of her classmates.

Kircher said DeLaurentis was insistent upon being treated the same as her peers, although she had been battling neuroblastoma, a rare form of cancer, since she was two-and-a-half. "I just find that was characteristic of her, she had a big heart, and a big personality," she said.