Goodbye, Avonte.
Hundreds of mourners packed a West Village church on Saturday to bid farewell to Avonte Oquendo, the 14-year-old autistic boy whose remains were discovered in the East River after a tragic months-long search.
Heartbroken mother Vanessa Fontaine cried throughout the Catholic funeral mass at Church of St. Joseph, where the teen’s gold-trimmed white coffin was draped in an ivory cloth with a red cross embroidered in the center.
But she and Avonte’s father Daniel Oquendo didn’t speak during the service.
Instead, retired New York Cardinal Edward Egan delivered a sermon, and the family’s attorney spoke after the closing prayer.
“When he was lost, [the family] never lost hope until his remains were found,” Egan said, adding, “We are grateful for Avonte. For his courageous life and the tragedy his death evoked.”
Lawyer David Perecman told supporters they must seek answers towhat happened to the teen, who sparked a citywide search after he slipped out of his Queens school on Oct. 4.
“This was a chapter of a very sad story,” Perecman said. “But we must have at least one more. …. We must learn how this special child managed to vanish.
“The loss of this family will not be in vain,” he added. “We must figure out how to fix our schools. We must promise them that this will never happen again.”
Supporters clutched sympathy cards and handed out white roses outside the Sixth Avenue church.
They stepped aside as pallbearers carried the coffin to a hearse and Avonte’s mom and dad, grandmother and brother Daniel Oquendo, Jr. trailed behind.
There will be no burial for Avonte, whose parents have decided to cremate him.
Avonte, who was nonverbal, was last seen on security cameras exiting Riverview School in Long Island City. On Jan. 16, his remains were discovered washed up on a Northern Queens beach.
Fontaine filed a lawsuit against the NYPD last week to obtain records related to his disappearance. She said she needs them to pursue a wrongful death case against the city.
In October, the family filed a $25-million notice of claim with the city comptroller, saying Avonte’s school failed to supervise him.
