Feb. 01--The last thing Alex Villafane remembers his father saying was to wake up and walk the dogs.
"Please," the father had told his 16-year-old son, named after him.
The teen left his Little Village home Sunday and started down the block with the family's pit bull and Labrador. His father was already outside working on his car. The boy hadn't gone far when he heard a shot.
He turned to see his father lying on the ground, bleeding from the head.
"I was scared. I was shocked. I didn't know how to react,"' the teen later recalled.
Neighbors rushed over to help as the teen ran into the house, screaming, "I think he got shot."
Tanika Martinez ran outside and saw her husband lying on his back.
"He couldn't say anything," she said. "He just held my hand and I called 911. ... I just told him that I loved him."
Villafane, 39, died two days later from complications from a single gunshot, according to an autopsy. Police said he was shot by someone in a passing van who slid the side door open and fired around 12:50 p.m. Sunday.
Villafane was working on the car because someone had stolen its catalytic converter -- a favorite of thieves -- that morning.
Chicago police had no motive for the shooting, saying Villafane had no gang affiliations and no criminal record. No one was in custody as of Friday evening.
Villafane, who also leaves another son, 20, and two daughters, 18 and 14, worked in heating and air conditioning. But his passion was coaching the Patriots, a football team of 10-to-13-year-olds in Humboldt Park.
"He lived for these kids. He started the team to get kids off the streets," his wife said.
His daughters are cheerleaders on the team.
"He was a pillar of Humboldt Park," his wife said. "He was very proud."
On Thursday night, nearly 100 people from the neighborhood gathered on the playing field where Villafane helped lead his team to championships the past two years. One by one they stepped forward in front of white and silver candles to share stories and, sometimes, to laugh as children tossed a football around.
Above the candles, a silver cross was attached to a chain-link fence along with a black chalkboard. On the chalkboard was written, "In Loving Memory Alexander Villafane." A heart was drawn below his name. To the left hung a large framed photo of Villafane holding a championship trophy.
"We 're here to celebrate his life and honor this field -- his home field," said Crystal Martinez, who had her arm around her 10-year-old son Isaiah Caballero, a starting defensive end and backup running back on the Patriots. "He taught my son how to be a respectful person on and off the field and to be a man," said Martinez, who is no relation to Villafane's wife.
Her other son, Armani Caballero, 13, said he couldn't play on the team because of health problems, but Villafane still made him feel welcome and even had a place for him as an assistant.
"He was a good coach, and he was nice and funny," Armani said.
Villafane grew up in the Humboldt Park neighborhood and helped start the team 11 years ago.
"There were so many kids here getting into trouble, and we were getting the boys off the street and keeping them safe," said Angel Del Valle, president of the team and Villafane's former brother-in-law. "He was my best friend. We did everything together."
"The community lost a hero," he said.
A former player on the team said Villafane treated him like a son.
"He used to make fun of my small hands," said Valdez Diaz, 18, drawing laughs from the crowd. "The man practically raised me."
Diaz now is a freshman at Luther College in Iowa.
"He told me the day before I left for Iowa for school that he was proud of me," he said.
Diaz came home from college as soon as he heard about what happened, according to Del Valle. "He wanted to see his coach one last time before he passed. Unfortunately, he didn't make it."
Charles Hemphill told how Villafane had given his daughter, Chaundrea, 12, a chance to play on the team.
"He took my child, a little girl, he put her in as quarterback, and they won," he said. "I didn't know how I was going to tell her" about Villafane's killing.
Chaundrea, bundled in a bright pink puffy jacket, tearfully said how much she was going to miss Villafane, even though he was a stickler about team rules. "He didn't play (around) about being late," she said as the crowd laughed.
Villafane's godson and nephew, also named Angel Del Valle, said it seemed Villafane could read his mind. "He'd say, 'Hey, how's it going? Do you need me?'
"My godfather put me on the bench, but he didn't stop working with me," said Del Valle, 19, drawing more laughs from the crowd. "He gave tough love, but he loved everybody."
The hourlong vigil ended about 7:30 p.m. Thursday with heart-shaped white and blue balloons released into the night sky to cries of "We love you, Alex" and a team rally chant, "1-2-3 Patriots!"
Afterward, Villafane's sister, Yolanda, 36, said she hoped the vigil would show "the person who did this" that he "took someone that mattered to a lot of people. This man mattered. He gave his all."
A friend sadly agreed.
"He was making a massive difference for 10 years in this community," Joel Rodriguez said. "What he fell victim to is what he was fighting against."
A memorial service for Villafane is set for Feb. 7, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. at Gibbons Funeral Home, 5917 W. Irving Park Road.
Additionally, the family has set up a fundraising site to help raise money for the services at http://www.gofundme.com/l1hf44
rsobol@tribpub.com
Twitter @RosemarySobol1
