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Obituary

Hockey player, aspiring musician dies at 21

Eric Pretto, who suffered from leukemia, had two of his songs recorded courtesy of the Children's Dream Fund.

By BETSY BOLGER-PAULET
Published November 3, 2005

Eric Pretto, a standout junior hockey player, aspiring hip-hop songwriter and student of computer technology, died Sunday (Oct. 30, 2005). He was 21.

Mr. Pretto, a Clearwater native, died of acute myeloid leukemia (AML) at All Children's Hospital in St. Petersburg.

His disease was first diagnosed in 1989 as acute lymphocytic leukemia (ALL), according to his father, Paul Pretto.

"He was only 5 when we first found out," Pretto said.

At about 8, after his son went through years of treatment and went into remission, "I agreed he could play any sport he wanted," he said. Until then, "he had been prevented from doing anything strenuous because of the medical equipment they had in his chest."

He chose ice hockey.

"He went to an academy when he was in kindergarten, and they took the kids out on the ice as part of the recreation program," his father said.

Thus began a major part of his life.

"He really took off with it," Pretto said. He "went to training classes in Boston and all over the country."

It paid off as he became one of the elite hockey players in his age group. He was active in youth hockey and played with the Tampa Bay Junior Lightning, the Tampa Bay Stars, the Tampa Bay Thunder, the Coral Springs Coyotes and the Oldsmar Sharks.

Mr. Pretto was a 2002 graduate of Pinellas High School. He most recently was pursuing a computer program at Pinellas Technical Education Centers in Clearwater.

Mr. Pretto skated in the prestigious Chicago Showcase, a national tournament for the top high school players. At 16, he earned a coveted position on the USA 17-and-under hockey team and participated in the European games.

"It was a pleasure to coach a person with Eric's desire, dedication and determination to the game that he obviously loved," said his former coach, Bob McCaig, of Acworth, Ga., the USA Hockey coach-in-chief for Southeastern District 5852.

"Eric's leadership qualities helped the lesser talented players to have confidence in themselves," McCaig said. "Now I know why. I never knew that Eric had been or was ill. This is the type of person he was - just playing the game he loved to the best of his ability."

Hockey remained Mr. Pretto's major interest up until a few months ago, when his illness came back.

His father remembers that day just a few months ago when he had come home from a national championship tournament in Michigan playing with the Sharks Junior Hockey team out of Oldsmar.

This was when Paul Pretto started to be concerned about his son's health again, even though by then, the young man was living on his own and taking care of his 21/2-year-old son, Jeremiah, who now lives in New York with his mother.

His father said after the Michigan games, his son had blue marks on his legs and complained of pain in his shin bones.

"That's how we found out about the leukemia back when he was 5," he said. "So I told him he'd better go get checked: "Even though you haven't had any signs for 15 years, you still need to get checked.' "

His childhood doctor at All Children's determined that indeed the leukemia had returned. Only this time it was the worst kind, the more aggressive AML.

He moved back with parents so they could take him for treatments. When it was suggested that he might need a bone marrow transplant, his sister, Kim, was found to be a match, but the procedure never happened.

In order to have the transplant, he had to undergo aggressive chemotherapy treatments. This destroyed his immune system. Within a short time, a sore throat led to a bacterial infection that spread quickly.

His father, proud of his son's prowess on the ice hockey field, also admired his other interests, which included song writing and computers.

"He had his song writing - he did a lot of rap and we supported him by giving him equipment, whatever he needed."

Two titles, Ride for You and Get da Girls, were recorded thanks to the nonprofit Children's Dream Fund program. The DVD from this endeavor will be played at his services Saturday.

"We arranged for him to spend the day at the Big3 Records studio" on Sept. 21, said Joanne Lanning, the program's dream coordinator. "On that day his girl cousin (Melissa Galbreath) came in from Jacksonville to be his back-up singer and the recording studio added music to the song, recorded the songs on a CD, complete with packaging and cover and a special DVD recording the day. It was a fun day for him."

Mrs. Lanning explained why even though Mr. Pretto was an adult, the program realized his dream.

"As the coordinators, we try to take what the child wants to do and make it come true. In this case, because Eric had relapsed and never had a dream back in 1989, we made it happen. We make these decisions on a case-by-case basis. Now, The foundation is trying to get his music played on local radio."

Bill Edwards, chairman & CEO of Big3 Records said, "Eric Pretto was a fine young man who dreamt of having the opportunity to record songs he wrote and arranged himself.

"Big3 Records was honored to be a part of making Eric's dream come true," he said. "Eric's legacy will now live on through the music he recorded. It is a gift his family can cherish forever. We all send our condolences to Eric's family. We hope others will learn how wonderful it is to have made a difference in one's life. That's all anyone can hope for."

Besides his father and son, survivors include his mother, Hattiel; three sisters, Kim Pretto and Fareedah Ellis, both of Clearwater, and Aneesha Pretto, Chapel Hill, N.C., and a brother, Anwar Richardson, Clearwater. Visitation will be from 5 to 8 p.m. Friday, with funeral services at 2 p.m. Saturday at Sylvan Abbey Funeral Home, 2853 Sunset Point Road, Clearwater, followed by burial at Sylvan Abbey Memorial Park. The family has asked for donations to the Children's Dream Fund, 235 Second Ave. S, St. Petersburg 33701.

[Last modified November 3, 2005, 01:06:17]