Also written by Mo Pannier
This article discusses the death of a staff member. If you or anyone you know is struggling with the passing, please reach out to the LHS counseling department in the counseling office.
Last week, on Tuesday, beloved marching band percussion instructor Jess Quintana passed away suddenly. While students had begun to process, flowers and gifts flooded in from friends of Quintana and other high school marching bands.
During his time working with the LHS marching band, students felt inspired by him to improve and continue pursuing their goals.
Junior color guard member Autumn Fann said, “[Quintana] definitely made everyone want to work a little harder just so we could make him proud. It was painful and we all struggled and then we realized we were a giant family and we just needed to do it for him.”
Junior percussionist Devon Quarles said, “[Quintana] was very kind. He listened to you if you needed to talk to him. He encouraged you to be the best person you could be. He just all around was very motivating and positive. He also had a very funny sense of humor…There are a lot of people who knew him, and there’s a lot of people that took it very hard with his passing. He’d been teaching here for a while.”
“He was a really strong leader and taught us exactly what to do and how to do it,” said Sophomore percussionist Oliver Nolting.
Marching band director Don Emmons worked with Quintana for a long time, and recalled fond memories of the instructor.
When asked about Quintana’s best traits, Emmons immediately said, “His enthusiasm for students and his passion for teaching. He really had a passion for students to learn how to play correctly so they could do everything they wanted to do.”
“…he was always the person who encouraged students, saying ‘You need to come try this!’ And then he would support them throughout the whole process, so that they would stay and they would have all of those great experiences. They would walk away saying, ‘Wow, I did this music at Littleton!’ And a lot of that was due to Jess.”
“Jess did this because he loved doing it. It wasn’t because he was paid really well, but he honestly did it because that was his heart and passion and soul,” said Emmons.
Despite his passing, Quintana will continue to impact marching band students of LHS, and the school as a whole. Many students learned valuable lessons of discipline from him. His years of dedication to the LHS Marching Band program have shaped it into what it is today.
Jess Quintana left a shining legacy of working hard, making music, and creating community. His memory and impact will live on forever in the hearts of all he touched.
