Schools

Parkville Students Hold Candlelight Memorial for Classmate

Ryan Isiah Chase, a Parkville High student, lost his life on Dec. 15. On Tuesday afternoon, friends and classmates gathered in a candlelight vigil at the site of the fatal accident.

Despite the chilly December afternoon temperature, a large group of students gathered on Monday in a circle around a small roadside memorial on the north side of Putty Hill Avenue.

Balloons, flowers and stuffed animals mark the spot where a young man tragically lost his life .

The students, classmates and friends of 15-year-old Ryan Isiah Chase, held candles and with a smile they said was contagious, no matter how down you were feeling.

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"He was funny without trying, he had hardships but he was someone you could always look up to if you were down, you could look at his big smile and feel better," said Ryan's classmate Jamar Reed.

Ryan Chase was part of a program called Advancement Via Individual Determination at the school, and many of the students who attended the after-school memorial service were classmates in the college preparatory course.

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"He was a sweetheart — always smiling — he was very funny without trying to be," said Khaliah Blackwell, a Parkville High School teacher who had Ryan in three of her classes.

"He just joined us in the AVID program this year, but you would never know it — he was just one of the guys," Blackwell said. "The kids build strong bonds in this program and that's why they're taking it so hard."

Blackwell said that Ryan was an excellent student, focused on his studies and determined to go to college. She explained that he would have graduated at 16 years old at the end of the 2012-2013 school year.

"He was a tall, funny, skinny kid with a big heart," said Mark Hunter, a close friend of Ryan's. He described Ryan as a kid who loved to study, but also an avid video game player. Hunter said that he and another classmate, Adindu Okoro, did weight training with Ryan after school and that he was planning to join the football team the following year.

"He was at my house every day playing Black Ops and Modern Warfare 3 with us," said Okoro, who was walking home with Ryan on the afternoon of the accident.

"I get flashbacks every now and then — when it happened, I was lost, confused, mad ... angry," Okoro said.

"It's like, 'Why Ryan?' He didn't do nothing to deserve it, but I guess everything happens for a reason," Hunter said.

"It's just a shame because the reason could have been avoided," Okoro said. "This road is dangerous."

Zahara Kazmi knew Ryan through the school robotics team, where he was interested in mechanics and programming.

"I'll always remember Ryan for his questions — the last day we were fighting over a tutorial question, I said goodbye to him and I left," Zahara said. "When I heard, I was devastated. I remember thinking that it couldn't be him."

"I think a lot of us were in shock," said Adaja Holliday, another of Ryan's classmates.

"AVID is like a family, you always see the same people — just as we were getting to know him, he left us. I just wish I could have gotten to know him better," said Brittany Davis.

Friends of Ryan Chase have created a Facebook memorial page where they remember a bright young man, determined to succeed.

According to the Facebook page, another candlelight memorial was being planned for Monday evening.

A public viewing will be held from 4:30-6 p.m. Wednesday at Vaughn C. Greene Funeral Services, 8729 Liberty Road in Randallstown. Funeral services will be held in the chapel there on Thursday, with a wake beginning at 10:30 a.m. and funeral services to follow at 11 a.m.


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