Dyker Heights boy who faced rare disease dies
Charlotte Eriksson once said, “Make someone feel something and you will never be forgotten.”
Local resident Sara Steinweiss believes Eriksson was referring to someone like Giuseppe “Joseph” Parrelli, the Dyker Heights boy who spent most of his life battling a bevy of health issues, and who, on Sunday, August 28, lost his fight at just 16 years old.
“The legacy this young man is leaving behind is tremendous,” said Steinweiss, who, after first meeting Parrelli while hosting a workshop at Kingsborough Early College Secondary School, knew she had to do what she could to give back to him and his family. “What Joseph Parrelli did for his family, friends, community and the world in his 16 years of life is more than most people can hope to accomplish in a lifetime.”