Services slated for mom of Woonsocket High student
Rena Fleury, 45, died last Friday after heart attack while cheering for football team from Tucker Field stands
WOONSOCKET – One of the first students that Woonsocket High principal Carnell Henderson saw in the hallway this past Tuesday morning was senior Emmanuel Gomes, who was heading to his first-period class.
When the sudden and unexpected death of a parent touches a student-athlete, grief follows no playbook.
A star running back on the WHS varsity football team, Gomes experienced the tragic loss of his mother, Rena Fleury, last Friday night. Fleury, 45, died after going into cardiac arrest while cheering on her son from the visiting bleachers at Cumberland’s Tucker Field.
“I saw him that night,” Henderson said. “For a kid who was hurt, he stood tall.”
Gomes found the end zone during the Novans’ 12-0 win over Shea High in an Injury Fund contest. While the two teams went after it, Fleury was fighting for her life. She received medical attention in the stands before being transported in an ambulance to Landmark Medical Center.
“I know it’s one of the toughest times in the kid’s life right now, but from what I see, he’s going about it the best way he can,” Henderson said.
“It’s tough, but we’ve got each other,” said Woonsocket football head coach Charlie Bibeault.
Henderson said that Fleury, a 1991 Woonsocket High graduate, “was a mainstay who always supported her son. You would always see her at the games and that goes back to when Emmanuel was playing Pop Warner. It’s sad to see.”
Fleury’s wake is scheduled for today from 3-6 p.m. at Holt Funeral Home. Henderson said he received an email from Woonsocket High athletic director Nancy Giordano about the football team’s plan to take a bus to the funeral home before heading to Pawtucket’s Pariseau Field for a 7 p.m. non-league game against St. Raphael Academy.
“If there’s anyone who can get through this, I would pick Emmanuel,” Henderson said.