Jonah Canty
In loving memory of our beloved classmate, Jonah Canty.
[Jonah] was the kind of person who always made you have fun. He always made you be happy around him. It’s almost like he always knew when you were down, because he would always just show up and be like, ‘Hey, you want to go do something? You want to go hang out?’ He was always there at everyone’s worst times, and everyone always felt better because of him.
— Oliver Butcher ('24)
[Jonah] was the sun of our friend group. He pulled everyone together; he was the reason that we all came together as a big group. And if he wanted something, he would go and do it. It was truly an adventure. He always wanted to be doing something; he didn’t like sitting around. And he was a deeply caring person. He cared a lot.
— Mick Adkins ('23)
Before Jonah, my life was pretty much one-dimensional: focusing on academics and playing golf up until I met him. After I started dating Jonah, I realized how much of life I was missing, and he set me free in that sense. I did not know how to skateboard; I did not know how to ride a bike. I never went out to see the stars with my friends; I never stayed up late or did stupid things. He did not even know he was doing it, but he showed me what it means to be a teenager and actual happiness felt like.
— Angie Zhang ('23)
Jonah was kind, genuine, fun, spontaneous — everything you wanted in a friend. The way he made friends was to be embarrassing so the other person wouldn’t feel embarrassed. My favorite memory with him is going on an impromptu road trip at 12 A.M. to Santa Barbara where we had no idea where to sleep, so we searched up ‘richest neighborhoods in Santa Barbara’ and slept in the car on a mountain road there because it would be more safe than a random Walmart.
— Eunice Lau ('23)
[Jonah] would always push me and others to do more things. After spending a lot of time with him last year in Theater Tech, I got to know who he really was. He encouraged me to do the musical, and many other things I’m so thankful for. I feel like there is always a subtle nudge from him, so people could do more adventurous things. He also would always be inviting to everyone and make you feel included, which is one of the main reasons why he was loved and appreciated by so many on campus.
— Valeria Gonzalez ('23)
He is the type of person to lead the group in a very non-leader way. There is no one that makes you want to have adventures like Jonah; it’s a very cringe phrase, but I feel like it’s true. There was this one time when we stayed at Oli’s house, and we went on an adventure to a boba store at 2 A.M. We drove there, where the entrance is a normal boba store, but when you go through the back, there is an entire chariot thing with led lights and crazy flowers. It was like at 3 A.M. at this point, so we ended up going to a playground and play tag for an hour and a half, when was pitch black outside.
— Dan Danylov ('23)
Jonah was the first upperclassman that seriously treated me like an actual friend and not an underclassman. Sometimes working in the shop gets boring and tiring, he would always make jokes and make Theater Tech lively. Even afterward, we would stay over and chill in Mr. Valdez’s office; he made me feel comfortable to be in that space [the theater], and that is one of my beloved spaces on campus.
— Leia Albornoz ('25)