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Ethan Rapoza Obituary
St. George - Our dear son, brother, and friend Ethan James Rapoza died on January 27, 2021 in Cedar City, Utah. Born in Las Vegas, Nevada to Karen (Stovall) Shattuck and Gary Rapoza, Ethan spent his early years in Las Vegas until he moved to St. George, Utah where he was raised by his mother, Karen and his stepfather, Brian Shattuck.
In his brief time on earth, Ethan was a light upon those who knew him. He was a peacemaker, a best-friend and loyal companion. His easy demeanor and calm spirit comforted those in his presence and will continue to serve as a comfort to those who survive him. Ethan was best known for his kind heart and gentle spirit. He had the special gift to identify and comfort those with struggles. Recently, a friend of Ethan's experienced a tragic loss in his family and Ethan jumped into action and organized a hugely successful fundraising campaign in no time at all to give needed aid to the family. He humbly helped, seeking no credit or accolades. Such a large legacy for such a short life.
If you could look away from his deep, playful eyes, and long eyelashes, you might notice his perfectly curly hair-sometimes messy, but it didn't really matter. All of this he tried to conceal behind a comfy t-shirt and cutoff sweat shorts, but all the girls noticed anyway. Ethan was blessed with classically handsome good looks, an engaging personality, and a captivating, quick-witted sense of humor.
A graduate of Desert Hills High School, Ethan excelled at wrestling, debate, baseball, kendama, and just about anything else he set out to do. Ethan loved camping and scouting and earned his Eagle Scout at just sixteen years old. He enjoyed snowboarding, bowling, and spending time with his many friends, especially his girlfriend Hailey.
Ethan was a student at SUU and was pursuing a degree in Cybersecurity.
He is survived by his parents, his sisters Lauren and Brooklyn, and brothers Tyler, Tanner, and Carson.
Funeral services will be on Friday, February 5, 2021, at 1:00 at The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter- day Saints Chapel, 750 E. Fort Pierce Dr., St. George, UT 84790. Viewing will be held from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm.
Our family would like to express our gratitude to the Cedar City Police Department and the Victim's Rights Advocates Office for the kindness and tenderness that was shown. We also wish to thank so very many kind friends and neighbors for their outpouring of love and support. We have been sustained by your prayers.
Arrangements are made under the direction of Spilsbury Mortuary, 110 S Bluff St, St. George, Utah. Friends and family are invited to share memories and messages on his online guestbook at www.spilsburymortuary.com.
To plant trees in memory, please visit the Sympathy Store.
2 Entries
Claire Pace
July 17, 2021
I miss you Ethan. I still think of him everyday, and the world got noticeably a little darker since his light went out. City pool isn´t the same without you there each day to keep me company.
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Marla McPherson
February 4, 2021
When Ethan joined the Desert Hills debate team his senior year, I knew he was a student with potential. I had seen him debate in my Language Arts class the previous year, and he was among very few of his peers to give a flawless performance. Our Language Arts class was 1st hour, a sleepy time for most teenagers, but during the debate round, Ethan really sparked. Luckily, he was inspired enough to join the team.
Initially, I wondered if he might be another one of those seniors taking debate as an easy English credit. He and his debate partner Parker Boyce had talked to me before signing up for the class about possible conflicting schedules with their wrestling season, but I had seen Ethan debate and knew we wanted him on the team for as much time as he could give us, so I assured them we could make it work.
Our first tournamentof the year is arguably the most difficult - Beehive Battles - where dozens of schools from throughout the U.S. compete at the University of Utah. It was Ethan and Parker's first debate tournament and they were entered in the novice division. They went undefeated in their 5 preliminary rounds. They advanced to quarter finals and won, then advanced to semi-finals where they placed 2nd overall!
Ethan quickly rose into a leadership role where he was routinely leading the other debaters in practice sessions and mentoring and modeling for his peers. While he was only able to compete in a handful of tournaments because of wrestling season, he and Parker placed 2nd overall at the region tournament.
When our debate class moved online, Ethan continued to stay active, calling in to participate in our online spar debates. Often he and his friends would coordinate ahead and show up to our online debates in "costume", painting on beards, wearing funny hats and goggles. They kept us entertaining during a difficult time.
Ethan was an invaluable member of our team, and I'm so grateful for the time I got to work with him and know him. All my love goes out to Ethan, his family and friends.
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110 South Bluff Street, Saint George, UT 84770
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