Mom accepts diploma for son who fought the good fight

Wednesday, June 15, 2005 | 10:44 a.m.

The mother of the late James "Fuj" Dalrymple accepted his Las Vegas High School diploma Tuesday night in front of a cheering crowd at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Dalrymple, 19, died May 24 in his sleep, one day after he passed his final exams.

When he was born, doctors told his mother, Kristy Dalrymple, that he would never walk or speak and that he would have to be fed through a stomach tube for the rest of his life, which they predicted would last less than five years.

Stricken from birth with cerebral palsy, he learned to walk with a limp, made his dream of playing baseball come true and earned his high school diploma.

At Tuesday's ceremony, Kristy Dalrymple said, "This is the proudest day of my life."

Her eyes were shining and her hands trembling with excitement.

"He worked very hard to get this," she said as she was whisked into line by Las Vegas High School Principal Patrice Johnson.

UNLV senior Crystal Dalrymple, James' 24-year-old sister, and his 31-year-old brother Patrick Lueras, a Las Vegas tow truck driver, never babied him or allowed him to feel sorry for himself, his mother said.

As she stood among the noisy crowd at the Thomas & Mack for the announcement of her brother's name, Crystal Dalrymple said one word described it: "Awesome."

Another proud mother, Patricia Diaz, came to the graduation ceremony to see her 17-year-old son, Juan Diaz, march down the red carpet.

Days before Dalrymple died, Patricia Diaz said her son and "Fuj," worked on a CD together.

The Diaz family has photographs to remember the boy that would not quit, she said.

Born on Feb. 1, 1986 in San Leandro, Calif., James arrived three months early and spent his first year in a hospital. Until he was 6 years old, he ate through a feeding tube. At the time he began throwing a ball and swinging a bat, his family said, although he could barely stand.

He also learned to talk and to eat.

He lived in Las Vegas for 12 years.

After spending four years working as a baseball team manager, "Fuj" convinced Wildcats head coach Sam Thomas to put him in an April 16 game against Palo Verde High.

Although he wore a leg brace, he started in right field and led off the batting order. James pushed the count full before striking out. He played one inning.

Officials and coaches of a high school all-star game donated $800 from the gate to the Dalrymple family to help pay for funeral expenses. James' mother receives disability pay and said she did not have enough funds to pay for a proper service and burial.

Dalrymple was buried at Palm Valley View Cemetery, 7600 S. Eastern Ave., on June 1.