Updated: Nearly 400 People Attend Joseph Mendes Dinner (with video)

Three hundred eighty-eight family members, friends and supporters of Joseph Mendes came together Friday evening at the Mohegan Fire House to remember Joseph, celebrate his life, and raise funds for a headstone.

Joseph was 15 when he committed suicide on Jan. 28.

He lived with his grandparents, Betty and Paul Allard.

The Allards talk about Joseph as the dinner is getting underway.

“He was very intelligent,” Betty says. “Very loving.” She says he excelled in school, and wanted to be a forensic dentist. He had the talent and intelligence become one, too, she says. “He was an A student, on the honor roll.”

Outside of school, Paul says, Joseph loved technology.

“You couldn’t get him off the computer.”

“Joseph was loved by his friends and family,” Betty says.

And it shows.

Even early, the dinner is crowded with people talking and laughing and remembering Joseph. Many are wearing T-shirts that bear his name and image. At the entry door, you can buy memory bracelets, in addition to tickets.

Dozens and dozens of individuals and businesses have donated items for a silent auction. Tables are filled with goods and gift certificates, and signs on the wall list the names of the donors.

“The outreach from the community has been phenomenal,” Betty says.

Donations range from $5 items to $800-plus, Paul says. From gift certificates for pizza to overnight stays at Mohegan Sun or Microtel.

Samantha Sajkowicz and Rhonda DiMaggio are looking over one of the auction tables. Both Betty and Paul Allard are justices of the peace, and Rhonda says she’s known Betty for years, ever since she married Rhonda and Samantha’s father.

While they didn’t know Joseph well, they say they are here to support Betty.

Jerolyn Fink, a Mohegan Tribe member, is helping with the silent auction. She, too, is a friend and supporter of Betty’s.

“Betty’s such a good person,” Fink says. “It’s a shame” about Joseph.

Alysha Kalinowski, 16, knew Joseph from school. She says he was funny, always telling jokes and flirting.

Her mom, Dianne, one of Betty’s closest friends, says that Joseph always had a smile for everyone.

“He was just a great kid,” she says. “He will be missed.”