You just don't meet that many truly nice people in life.
 
I'm not talking about nice, like your neighbor, your companion or BFF. I'm talking about NICE, to the core of their being and their soul.

Those people who always have a shimmer of heaven about them in whatever they say, whatever they do, however they act.
 
You can sense it when you're in their presence. I'm not one of those people. In all likelihood, neither are you.
 
Most of us aren't.
 
We lost one of those good ones Monday, when Leon Vanderfeltz passed away at the age of 79.
 
Mr. Helias.
 
Our loss, heaven's gain.
 
"He was just one, fantastic human being," former Helias football coach Ray Hentges said. "He loved kids and he loved Helias.
 
"He was supportive of the entire school, but in particular, athletics. He was always there to support the kids."
 
Leon was on the ground floor of the Helias Booster Club in the 1950s.
 
"Their main purpose then was to provide Greyhound buses and meals for the football team," Hentges said. "Of course, there were only three sports back then.
 
"He wanted them to travel in style and to get fed after the games. But through the years, whatever you wanted, he got done."
 
During my nearly 30-year stint at the Jefferson City News Tribune, one of my beat coverage was the Jefferson City Jays. I would see Leon at sporting events on a frequent basis --- Blue and Gold meets Red and Black.
 
"You do a helluva job, Loeffler," Leon said, time after time, meeting after meeting, year after year. "You just cover the wrong school."
 
Handshakes, smiles. A warm wink from Leon.
 
"I believe that," Hentges said. "He wore Blue and Gold on his sleeve."
 
It didn't matter what the sport was, Leon was there.
 
"He was a super fan and he showed a lot of enthusiasm at all of our sporting events," former Helias wrestling coach Mike Jeffries said.
 
"In the 80s, when we were doing fairly well (meaning, winning state championships every year), you could count on him to give a cheer at the right time.
 
"The crowd would really get into it."
 
The Kings of Leon.
 
"Not only did we notice it, but everyone else did, too," Jeffries said. "He was a fixture. He was all about Blue and Gold ... it will never be the same.
 
"Other schools then started having their Leons --- and imitation is the highest form of flattery --- where an adult would be a cheerleader.
 
"But they could never pull it off like Leon."
 
Vanderfeltz was a 1950 graduate of St. Peters (it became Helias in 1956). A dairy farmer, he had eight children --- five boys, three girls.
 
To be sure, his extended family was a whole lot bigger.

 

"He was our biggest fan and not just of the sports, he really loved Helias," Helias baseball coach Chris Wyrick said. "Not only his spirit at the games, but he did a lot of stuff behind the scenes.