'Long Live Ice': Teen's Unexpected Death Has Community Mourning

PLAINFIELD, IL — Stories and photographs of a teenager nicknamed "Ice" are pouring in on a recently made Facebook page. Titled "Ice's Legacy," the page is dedicated to a Plainfield student who died unexpectedly the day after Christmas.

Scroll through the page, whose description reads "Speak his name and keep him alive," and you'll be scrolling for some time. At only 19 years old, Zachary Icenogle left a deep impact on the community. And although he died out of the blue, his family told Patch he went peacefully and without pain.

Heavily involved in choir and described as "the most kind-hearted, passionate, and hard-working person," the 2021 Plainfield Central High School graduate is remembered by classmates, friends and co-workers.

"While I wish it wasn’t real, I’m so glad this page exists as I absolutely enjoy reading everyone’s memories of such an amazing young man," one person said in a post describing her experience taking an American Sign Language class with Zach and his sister.

In another woman's story describing Zach's personality, she said the teen was one of the first to make friends with her son, who is on the autism spectrum. She said he went out of his way to greet her son and treated him with kindness.

"Our family has known Zach since grade school. And I truly mean it when I say that he was one of my favorite people," she wrote. "From a very young age, he was caring and kind."

That's just one of dozens of stories describing Zach's warm personality and big heart. At downtown Plainfield's Wine & Cheese Co., where he worked as a cook, employees shared similar sentiments, remembering his positive impact on the shop.

"Watching you grow in the past two years to the man you became and to be a part of your journey in life has truly been a gift to all of us," staff wrote in a post on Facebook. "Never a moment that you wouldn’t lend a helping hand, tell a great dad joke, or be there for a co-worker in need. A true friend to so many. To say we are all devastated would be an understatement. You were compassionate, empathetic, amiable, sincere, and gregarious."

The community's outpour of love following Zach's death is one that has left his mom, Tabitha Galaty, and 21-year-old sister, Mikayla, in shock.

"We're just awed by the outpouring of love that the community of Plainfield had for him," said Tabitha, an Ira Jones Middle School teacher of 17 years. "We weren't residents of Plainfield for forever; we only moved here in 2014 ... and we just cannot believe the support for him and how much he was cared about."

His qualities, the ones that friends, family and acquaintances are continuously sharing of online, are some that Mikayla said he learned from his parents.

"My mom and my dad really both worked hard to enforce that he was going to be a stand-up man, that he was going to be respectful, that he was going to use his manners ... and be understanding, empathetic and sympathetic," Mikayla said.

A social work student whose experience at Carthage College was cut short after a semester, Zach involved himself "110 percent" at school, according to the organizer of a GoFundMe campaign. During his time at Plainfield Central, Zach played basketball and volleyball, took part in choir and was a member of the National Honor Society. He was also an avid Green Bay Packers fan, his mom said.

"The thing that gives me the most goosebumps, the most chills, is knowing how many people he touched in just a semester at college," Mikayla said. "I can't even imagine what he would have done with seven more."

In the day since starting the fundraiser, 225 donations have been made amounting to more than $8,500. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations that will be split between Ira Jones Middle School, Plainfield Central High and Carthage College: "the three places he called home," Tabitha said.

To commemorate Zach's love of choir, Plainfield Central's choirs will host a remembrance performance on Saturday, Jan. 8. To practice, organizers are inviting former Plainfield Central choir alumni to a combined rehearsal, set to take place from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m. Friday, Jan. 7, in the high school's choir room.

"His family has asked for some of Zach’s favorite pieces to be performed at the service," concert organizers wrote in a letter. "We will be performing 'The Road Home' and 'With the Love in My Heart,' written by Joseph Sarabia, a Class of 2021 graduate and dedicated to Zach’s memory."

Zach's obituary, though not yet complete, says visitation is from 1 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. Jan. 8 at Overman-Jones Funeral Home and Cremation Services, 15219 S. Joliet Road. Interment will be private.

The family is requesting visitors wear their high school and college gear to Zach's services.

"We're so cautious, we just want to make sure we're saying thank you enough because it's not going unnoticed; it's not going unseen," Mikayla said.

"If there is one group we would really like to thank, it's the first-responders that came here that night to help us and to be here," Tabitha added. "They were truly supportive during a very difficult few hours. ... If I could hug every one of those first-responders, I would."

GoFundMe is a Patch promotional partner.