Born Jan. 22, 1989, in Chicago, to John and Denise Alaniz, she died Friday, June 2, 2006, from injuries she sustained in an automobile accident. She was to enter her senior year of high school this fall at St. Charles East High School. She was a member of the National Honors Society, captain of the Debate Team, and was a member of the high school wind ensemble and marching band.

∼Nicole Alaniz, 17, of St. Charles died Friday, June 2, 2006, from injuries she sustained in an automobile accident. She was born Jan. 22, 1989, in Chicago, to John and Denise Alaniz.

Visitation was held June 6 at Yurs Funeral Home in St. Charles. Mass was celebrated June 7 at St. John Neumann Catholic Church in St. Charles.

Nicole was to enter her senior year this fall at St. Charles East High School. She was a member of the National Honors Society, was captain of the Debate Team and was a member of the high school wind ensemble and marching band.

She is survived by her parents; a younger brother, John Christopher; her paternal grandmother, Blanca Alaniz of Chicago; and her maternal grandfather, Jerry Walkowicz, formerly of Chicago.
A makeshift memorial has been erected at the accident site remembering Nicole, who was a member of the school's National Honor Society and was captain of the debate team. Nicole also played the flute and piccolo for the high school's wind ensemble.

"She was vivacious, argumentative and I think what we came to find from her friends they chose the word 'sassy,'" Nicole's father, John, said of her. "She was fun with an attitude."

Nicole, who was very passionate when it came to music, was also an avid writer.

"She wrote really anything from her personal journals to short stories," John said. "Her favorite (school) projects were writing assignments."

John also recalled a time when Nicole was young, between 5 and 6 years old, when she was determined to draw a picture of the Walt Disney character Pocahontas.

"She was using crayons and she was so determined to get it right. She was having trouble with the eyes. ... She was just so determined and frustrated that it became a challenge to her," he said.

Nicole eventually got the eyes right, said John, and it was that determination that made her who she was.

"Whatever she put her mind to, she was very determined," he said.