Zoe Raine Galasso
- Aug 10, 2019
- 1 min read
Updated: May 18, 2022
MARYSVILLE, WA, U.S.A.
FRESHMAN STUDENT, MARYSVILLE PILCHUCK HIGH SCHOOL, MARYSVILLE, WA
10/24/2014 MARYSVILLE, WA
Zoe Raine Galasso was the daughter of Michael and Michelle Galasso and the sister of Rayden Zane Galasso. She was born February 22, 2000, Zoe was 14 years old. She is remembered by her family as someone who loved and is loved. She loved her family, loved her large group of friends. Loved animals. She enjoyed road trips and live music. She played every sport. She especially loved soccer. Zoe spread her happiness and delight in new experiences everywhere.
“Zoe was a vibrant 14-year-old, beautiful, always laughing and sweet,” Carrie Edmond commented.
“In order for me to heal from this, I have to forgive because I cannot waste my life hating or being angry. I just can’t. I’ll never know why he did it and he took away one of the best things that I ever brought into this world, but he’s a child too,” Michelle Galasso explained.
“We can’t live in fear, as much as we feel we need to. We can’t put a metal suit on our kid every day, as much as you want to. Live your life without regret. Tell your children you love them, and take every moment and cherish every moment,” Mrs. Galasso reminds us. She believes that forgiveness will help her heal.
Michelle Galasso keeps and reads a text she looks to for inspiration. It’s from Zoe a few months before October. “It says, ‘Happy Birthday to my mom, my other half, my best friend. I look up to you. You are the strongest person I know and I wouldn’t be who I am without you.'”
It’s hard to read about a 14-year-old who seemed to throw herself into everything — sports, friends, new experiences — and then have it all end so abruptly. The reminder to “live without regret” makes me think about the small daily choices we put off, even silly ones, like finally sorting out my wardrobe after seeing something on StyleLookLab. This was heartbreaking, and I’m grateful her story is being remembered.
That birthday text excerpt is such a gut punch — it’s the everyday sweetness that makes the loss feel impossible to process. After reading, I went looking for something gentle and familiar to calm down, and it reminded me of when I was browsing ghibli ai for a completely harmless distraction. But honestly, nothing really “distracts” from a story like this; it just makes you hug your people tighter.
I appreciate that this doesn’t turn Zoe into just a headline; it actually paints a picture of a kid who was excited about everything. The part about forgiveness is complicated, but I respect her mom for saying it out loud — I remember seeing a similar “how do you keep living?” question pop up on hrefgo in a totally different context. This is the kind of story that stays with you.
The little details — loving animals, live music, playing every sport — make her feel real in a way statistics never do. I also keep thinking about how a single date can split life into “before” and “after,” like when I first learned about the Vigenère cipher tool and realized how much meaning can be hidden in plain text. Holding Zoe’s family in my thoughts.
That line about not being able to “put a metal suit” on your kid every day is so painfully true, and it captures the helplessness parents must feel after something like this. I caught myself doom-scrolling to distract after reading, the way I do with BlockBlast sometimes, but it doesn’t really blunt the sadness. Zoe sounds like the kind of friend everyone wishes they had.