Alejandro (Alex) Pacas

Alejandro (Alex) Guillermo Pacas, age 19, of Mount Carroll, Illinois, died Wednesday, July 28, 2010, in a grain elevator accident at Mount Carroll. Visitation will be held from 4:00 to 8:00 p.m. on Saturday, July 31, 2010, at the Frank Law Jones Funeral Home in Mount Carroll, with a Rosary Service held at 3:30 p.m. prior to the visitation at the funeral home. A Mass of Catholic Burial will be held at a later date. Alex was born November 28, 1990 in Clinton, Iowa, the son of Marco and Annette (Rylatt) Pacas. Homeschooled though 8th grade, Alex loved learning new things. From a young age he took things apart, losing pieces before his father could repair them. In school, his interest in science spurred him to enroll in Hamilton Tech to study mechanical engineering. At West Carroll High School he rushed through his classes, played 3 years of football and was a sharp dressed basketball manager all 4 years, accompanying the team to State. Music was another theme that ran through Alex’s life. Rock-n-Roll (the Grateful Dead and the Beatles) displaced Barney songs. He played trumpet in the school band. After receiving his most prized possession, an electric bass as a surprise, for his favorite holiday, Christmas, he played in the New Spirit Band for four years, outwardly expressing his deep internal faith. Alex deeply loved his family; he “renamed” each of his six younger siblings, treated them to creative stories and skits, led them in long outdoor treks, built Lego wonderlands, and exerted a paternal influence. He asked for the responsibility of being Emmanuel’s godfather, and he was Ana’s confirmation sponsor, as well as her hero. He prayed for them until the end.Alex was a good friend, generous and loyal. He was a competitive card player and a daredevil from age 3 when he first rode his toy fire engine down Washington Street’s hill. Impulsive and kind, he was always ready for an adventure; he loved life.Alex is loved and will be dearly missed by his parents, Marco V. and Annette L. Pacas; his three sisters, Ana, Luisa "Wizi" and Mariana "Cu"; his three brothers, Tony, Roberto "Betis" and Emmanuel "Squeaks"; his maternal grandmother, Sandra Rylatt; and paternal grandparents, Marcos and Coralia Pacas, numerous aunts, uncles, and cousins. Alex is preceded in death by his maternal grandfather, Donald Rylatt and an aunt, Maria Eugenia Pacas.