Funeral for Alex Beiga, Naperville student killed in Switzerland avalanche, set for this week

CHICAGO (WLS) -- A funeral will be held this week for a Naperville Central High School student, who died in an avalanche in Switzerland, ABC7 Chicago news partner the Daily Herald reported.

Visitation services for Aleksas Beiga, 15, will be held from 3 to 9 p.m. Thursday at Blessed Jurgis Matulaitis Lithuanian Catholic Mission Church, 14911 E. 127th St. in Lemont.

Funeral services will be held at 10 a.m. Friday at the church. Interment will be at the Lithuanian National Cemetery in Justice.

The avalanche occurred at about 2 p.m. April 1 in an off-piste area of the Riffelberg, above the Swiss resort of Zermatt and below the famed Matterhorn peak.

Three skiers died; another was seriously hurt.

Beiga's swim coach at Academy Bullets Swim Club confirmed the 15-year-old was one of the people who died.

"Alex was the first one to say 'yes, let's do it, let's go make memories.' He was just so vibrant, so full of life," said Emilija Mockus, a family friend. "The only calm part of me is that knowing how adventurous he was and how much he loved skiing was that he, he was looking at the most beautiful mountains."

The teen swam for both Naperville Central High School and the suburban club program. His teammates and coaches are devastated.

"He was loved by his teammates, loved by his coaches, knew when to crack a joke, knew when to be serious," said Todd Capen, head coach at Academy Bullets Swim Club.

Beiga was the son of former Lithuanian swimmer Nerijus Beiga, who competed at the 1996 Atlanta and 1992 Barcelona Summer Olympics.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.