Ronkonkoma community mourns 14-year-old Gianni Galoppe

The Ronkonkoma and Connetquot school district communities are mourning the loss of 14-year-old Gianni Galoppe, who died last week on a family trip to Honesdale, Pennsylvania.

A recent graduate of Ronkonkoma Middle School, Gianni was remembered in his obituary as a “truly amazing soul” whose kindness and gentle heart touched everyone who knew him.

An avid swimmer since childhood, Gianni was a member of both the RMS swim team and the Connetquot Swim Club, and looked forward to every meet, according to his family. At school, he received a Certificate of Excellence in Academic Recognition for Physical Education and was known among teachers and classmates for his respectful, caring attitude.

He is survived by his father, Robby; his mother, Alissa; his stepmother, Alex, and stepfather, Jon; and four younger brothers — Jayce and Lukas on his father’s side, and Leo and Luca on his mother’s side.

In a Facebook post last week, Gianni’s aunt, Crystal Somerville, wrote that he was the funniest kid she knew, with a big heart and the smarts to go on to “do amazing things.” Somerville said she was grateful for the 14 years she got to spend loving and laughing with her nephew, and that losing him left the family broken in ways they’ll never fully heal from.

“You are the light in everyone’s life and have made everyone’s lives so much better by being with us,” she wrote. “You are the funniest little kid, you have the biggest heart, you’re so sweet and you are beyond smart.”

A second fundraiser, started by his grandmother, Jennifer Lehnert, on behalf of his mother, Alissa, and stepfather, Jon, has raised more than $42,400 from 480 donors. Lehnert wrote that she wants to ease the family’s financial burden so they can focus on Gianni’s younger brothers, Leonardo and Luca, in “the coming days, weeks and months.”