ÃÛÌÒÇéÈË

Bieesha Harper used to refer to Keyon Day as "the mayor."

"Everywhere we went, we went to the grocery store, we'd go swimming at the YMCA, we'd go to parks, he knew everybody," said Harper, who used to live in Springfield but moved to Chicago following the death of her husband, Quovadis Harper, in 2021.

"He would ask adults about their kids. He had a memory like an elephant."

More news:Grocery tax, new hotel and more: Springfield mayor marks one year with exclusive interview

Harper and her family were among the 1,000 or so people at Tuesday paying their last respects to Day, a 16-year-old sophomore at who was shot walking to school from his grandmother's house the morning of April 24.

Gabe Lobmaster, a junior at Southeast, recalled meeting Day at the school's Freshmen Forward event.

"(My) sophomore year, I was working as a helper (and) he looked confused and lost, and ever since then, we've been friends," said Lobmaster, who also knew him from football and track.

Phong Duong, also a Southeast junior and the school band's drum major, said he knew Day from football games and track meets.

Duong, who shoots photography and video, said he and Day had been planning to make a video at the May 9 Central State 8 Conference track and field meet.

"But that never got there," said Duong, his voice trailing off, outside of the church. "The last (couple) of weeks have been rough."

James Ballard, Southeast's track and field head coach, marveled that, as a freshman, Day was leading stetches on the team and telling teammates what to do.

Day was a state qualifier in the 4x400 relays last spring.

"A piece of me is gone, honestly," Ballard said at the service.

Wearing a red shirt, Day's favorite color, Nate Borders, a teacher and coach at Southeast, said "you could see that smile (on Day's face) from a mile away. He could truly light up a room."

Sacred Heart-Griffin girls soccer coach Mike Lindsey brought seven of his players to Day's memorial service.

"I feel terrible (about the loss)," Lindsey said afterwards. "A 16-year-old athlete."

A character development coach who works with SHG's team, Charlie Brown, Lindsey said, would refer to Day as his "nephew."

The Rev. T. Ray McJunkins, the lead pastor at Union Baptist, earlier told Day's family that "we’ve come not to ‘funeralize’ Keyon but to celebrate his life, his 16 years on earth."

"His spirit is going to live on in each one of us," McJunkins promised the gathering later.

Coming to Springfield:Pulitzer Prize-winning author Doris Kearns Goodwin to return to Springfield this summer

Speaking after the service, Harper said Day, who always addressed her as "auntie," had a unique gift of being able "to know how to talk to anybody, to welcome in anybody, any race, any age."

Sometimes, Day would stay with Harper and her family. Kids would show up at her house, she said, "just hoping (Day) would be there.

"I thought I would get a chance to annoy his kids as much as he annoyed me," she added, with a laugh.

Two juveniles have been charged with first-degree murder in connection to the shooting.

Contact Steven Spearie: 217-622-1788; sspearie@sj-r.com; X, twitter.com/@StevenSpearie.