‘A pure soul’: Dozens gather to honor Boston teen killed in fire

BOSTON — Dozens of people gathered at Castle Island in Boston Sunday to release balloons in honor of Mario Evans.

The 16-year-old tragically died from a fire at his home in Hyde Park less than 2 weeks ago.

“He was a puzzle piece inside all of us and we feel like one piece of that puzzle is missing,” said Geovanne Evans, Mario’s uncle.

“He was my everything, I don’t know how I’m going to survive without him,” said Mario’s grandmother.

Mario’s grandmother says she’ll never forget kissing him before bed the night before the fire.

Her husband rushed to get the rest of the family out of the house, including Mario’s younger brothers but they had trouble finding Mario.

Eventually, firefighters found him hiding under a blanket.

After spending a few days in the hospital in critical condition, Mario died from his injuries.

“That’s the way I lost my grandson, my first one, he was my everything, every night he was the one who took my hand and took me upstairs to my bedroom at 6 o’clock,” said Mario’s grandmother.

“He was so funny, so witty, such a loving kid, polite, great big brother, simple boy, just a pure soul, just gone way too soon, a pure soul, we loved him very, very, very much,” said Laurine Pierre-Louis, Mario’s aunt.

Family, friends and some of Mario’s teachers from Match High School all gathered to share memories of him Sunday.

Mario had autism, and his teachers say he was one of the smartest, most loving students at school.

“His spirit was always bright and it’ll be missed, but it’ll definitely be in the school,” said Lindsay Linton, one of Mario’s aides at school.

His family gave him the nickname ‘Super Mario’ after one of his favorite characters, who he planned to be for Halloween this year, but the fire broke out on October 29th.

“We are trying our best, we are here to honor him and celebrate his life because he had a wonderful life, he gave us a wonderful 16 years of good times and adventure,” said Pierre-Louis.

Not only will Mario live on in his family and friends, but his family says he also already saved 4 lives by donating his organs.

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