School Honors Teen as Homecoming King Days After He Dies From Cancer

Just days after the death of one of their classmates, this school’s student body pulled off an amazing tribute.

Nick Peters, a student at Harlingen High School in Texas, passed away on October 3 after a seven year battle with leukemia. Though he had been homebound for large swathes of his illness, he did have a good friend in Norman Torres.

Torres and Peters had been friends in middle school, and reconnected when both were in cancer treatment at the same time. Torres, whose cancer has been in remission since June, and Nick bonded over their shared experiences.

“We kind of battled cancer together. We were connected in a way most people weren’t,” Torres explained to Today.

After Peters passed away, Torres wanted to do something to honor his friend. Using his position as class president, he encouraged his fellow class officers to nominate Nick for Homecoming King. The campaign started building quickly, and when the homecoming dance arrived, Peters was elected in a landslide.

Peter’s family, mother Judy and siblings Ashley, 20, and Noah, 12, attended the dance at Torres’ invitation, and he presented Noah the crown when Nick was announced as the winner. The Peters family members were quite moved by the gesture.

“We went hoping obviously that it would be him,” said Ashley Peters. “When they said his name it was a very special and emotional moment and I really think it shows what kind of people his classmates were… It will be something we remember always.”

She went on discuss how her brother would have reacted. “He was very humble and wouldn’t wanted (sic) all the attention… He always cared about everyone else. He never wanted to be the cancer kid and he never was because he made something of himself.”