Soon after the tragic death of 30-year-old Aaron Tuneberg of Boulder, his family created a memorial fund in his name.
They wanted the money to help people like Tuneberg, who lived his whole life with mental disabilities.
“I always said if I could just help one person like Aaron, it would be a success,” said Gale Boonstra, Tuneberg’s mother.
Now, nearly a year after Tuneberg died of injuries suffered in an assault, the fund is going toward helping more than just one person.
Using seed money from the Aaron Tuneberg Memorial Fund, the Boulder Valley School District has partnered with Community Cycles to offer a class teaching students with mental disabilities how to repair bicycles. The six-week program launched earlier this year with its first two students from BVSD’s Transitions program, which helps graduating students with mental disabilities prepare for life after school on their own.
Boonstra said her daughter’s boyfriend came up with the idea because Tuneberg loved bikes. Cycling was his primary mode of transportation, but it was also his source of community.
“That is where Aaron had his healthiest relationships,” Boonstra said of the cycling community. “He was comfortable, and he was safe. He loved that.”
Tuneberg was beaten at his apartment during a botched robbery March 31 by two teenage men, according to police. He died of his injuries a week later. Austin Holford, 19, pleaded guilty earlier this month to second-degree murder and three other felonies and will spend 48 to 70 years in prison.
The Tuneberg fund has given Community Cycles about $6,000.
