Friends and family say UNM student Jonathan Spradling was a thoughtful and caring person who helped homeless people and loved politics and literature.
Spradling, 23, died in a traffic accident near Los Lunas Friday.
"He was the most generous person you would ever meet," said Raul Alvillar, a fellow UNM student and close friend. "He'd give you the shirt off his back."
Spradling was born in Artesia and graduated from Artesia High School in 1997. He was very active in student council, serving as class president during his senior year. Spradling was a football player and a member of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He also wrote for the school newspaper.
Spradling majored in English and history at UNM and planned to graduate in Dec. 2002 with a teaching certificate. He had ambitions of teaching English in Mexico or Central America.
"He wanted to teach, then do something behind the scenes with politics," Alvillar said.
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While at UNM, Spradling was very active in politics, working as a volunteer for the state Democratic Party and later for Al Gore's presidential campaign, where he wrote press releases and helped coordinate other volunteer efforts.
"When you spend 60 to 70 hours a week working on something like that, we became family," said Ray Rivera, a UNM student who also worked on the campaign. "That's what makes this the hardest part."
Rivera said he will remember Spradling as a progressively-minded person.
"He never got upset at people, he never shouted or got visibly upset," Rivera said. "He just wanted to help out as much as he could and enjoy his life and the people around him."
Spradling's father, John, said he was just learning about his son's interest in helping homeless people in the UNM area. Jonathan was working on an article about homelessness for Crosswinds Weekly, his father said.
"He was just so generous and kind, he'd give away anything," John Spradling said.
Spradling regularly paid a homeless man who frequented his neighborhood near Harvard Drive and Central Avenue to wash his car, and often gave him money and food, Alvilar said.
Spradling often went camping in the Jemez Mountains, Alvillar said. He was returning from a trip to Las Cruces and Ju†rez, Mexico, with a friend from UNM when the one-vehicle accident occurred.
Spradling's cousin, UNM student Jennifer Padilla, called him a noble and brilliant person who enjoyed making people laugh, and said he always welcomed visitors to his apartment.
"You could never have a bad time when you were with him," she said.
Spradling is survived by his parents, John and Lorraine Spradling, of Artesia; his sister, Brandan Maria Spradling; his grandmother, Martina O. Padilla; and other family members.
Two funeral services will be held, one Tuesday at 10 a.m. at First Baptist Church in Artesia, and another Wednesday at the Aquinas Newman Center on campus at 10 a.m., with a viewing beginning at 9:30 a.m.
