Columbia junior remembered as 'loving and kind soul' at balloon release following accident

When a loved one dies, their legacy is often reflected in many ways, the number of people they impacted, or simply the example they set in how they chose to live.

For individuals like Columbia Central High School 11th grader Will Spiess, it wasn't just family and friends who knew and loved him, but anyone who crossed his path on a given day — friend or stranger.

Sporting a frequent cowboy hat, signature boots and having a love for music, made a pretty good ice breaker for the student fondly known as "rockstar cowboy."

Spiess passed away Sunday, Nov. 12 from smoke caused by an accidental fire at the Natchez Trace campgrounds in Lewis County, just a few weeks shy of what would have been his 20th birthday. As the community mourned the loss, it was a moment that brought hundreds of people together to support his surviving family, while honoring his memory.

He leaves a legacy of inspiring many friends and family say.

Spiess' funeral was Thursday at Heritage Funeral Home, which drew a capacity crowd, including family members, fellow students, athletic coaches, first responders, as well as those who knew him from the Maury County Best Buddies program of which he was a member.

The crowd was so large, in fact, that it temporarily jammed up traffic along Bear Creek Pike prior to the ceremony.

"I am overwhelmed by the love, and it's been humbling, a true blessing," Spiess' mother Heather Seibold-Speiss said. "I knew that my child was loved, but to see all of these people show up, for me, I don't even know how to put it into words."

On Friday following the service, CCHS paid its own tribute to Spiess, one that his family described as "uniquely Will."

'A loving and kind soul' who loved music, people and balloons

At 10 a.m. Friday, hundreds of students, family and members of the Maury Best Buddies program gathered along the CHS bus ramp for a special balloon release ceremony in Spiess' honor.

The event featured multiple speakers, including CHS Principal Dr. Michael Steele, who wore a white cowboy hat in his honor along with a purple shirt, Will's favorite color; Maury County Superintendent Lisa Ventura and Speiss' former Best Buddies partners.

"We are on God's time and Will was on God's time. God created Will and gave us Will for a short time, but he made certain that Will, with all his challenges, blessed the masses of people," Steele said before donning the cowboy hat in tribute.

"Will has never known anything but overcoming challenges and being loving and kind. So much I wish I cared for everyone's happiness as much as Will did. God made sure Will was a warrior, filled Will with the love only he could provide, and this is a love that I hope represents, for all of us — that we love like Will loved, and that we want to see everybody happy and smiling like Will did."

While a balloon release is a common form of expressing remembrance, this release had a little something extra sentimental tied to it.

This was because balloons were one of Speiss' many passions, which ranged from listening to his favorite country artists like Dwight Yoakam and Garth Brooks to petting goats or simply cooling down on a hot day with a Coke Icee, or as he called it a "Coke-Kee-Kee."

During his younger years, Spiess rarely went anywhere without clasping a balloon in his hand.

"It was just his thing, one of the many things that made him 'Will,'" his family said.

His persona as the CCHS "rockstar cowboy" came about as he was rarely seen without his signature cowboy hat and boots, and of course his favorite color purple.

During Friday's ceremony, many spectators donned cowboy hats, boots and purple shirts, which read "In loving memory of Will," featuring an image of his hat and boots. Many others shared sentiments on social media using the hashtag #LLWS for "Love Like Will Spiess."

"He made us want to be better, made us want to do better for all children," Ventura said. "He was a living, breathing image of what we all should be, and what we are all taught. He was the living embodiment of kindness, patience and love, and the greatest of these is love."

As an avid sports fan, Spiess was also often given the "celebrity treatment" when attending CCHS football games.

"When we'd go to football games, it would take us almost a half hour just to get from one end of the stands to the other," Spiess' uncle Kenneth Seibold said. "Everyone just had to come up and say 'Hi,' when they saw Will was there."

The best kind of Best Buddy

In addition to being known for his unique sense of style, Spiess was also an active member of the Maury County Best Buddies program, which partners students with children living with special needs.

At the time of his birth, Spiess was born prematurely, weighing only two pounds and spending many weeks under intensive care. For the first few years of his life, he used a feeding tube to receive nutrients, but overcame that obstacle after friends and family were told "he just needs to gain a little weight."

While much of Spiess' life was spent beating the odds to overcome multiple health struggles, he remained humble throughout, simply wanting to have fun, meet people and enjoy a good meal.

He was also synonymous as somewhat of a ladies' man, acquiring many "girlfriends" after reaching his teenage years and receiving his first phone.

"I was one of his girlfriends," CCHS sophomore Millie Vick said. "Being in Best Buddies was a good decision, and iI was honored to work with Will."

Spiess first joined Best Buddies while a student at Whitthorne Middle School. Best Buddies Maury sponsor Juli Beck remembers how much the program meant to him and everyone he had the opportunity to work with.

"Best Buddies really meant a lot to Will, and he means so much to us. He was a very active member in Maury County," Beck said. "Everybody here knows Will, loves Will and he made school a fun place. Will is definitely a best buddy when you think of Best Buddies. That's Will."

Prior to Friday's balloon release, Kirk Shepard of the Fellowship of Christian Athletes (FCA) shared a few final words about working closely with Spiess, and while a time of loss, his legacy will only grow stronger to anyone who ever knew the little man in the cowboy hat, whose spirit was ten times as big.

"Will is completely healthy and completely whole, and he's waiting for us," Shepard said. "He set an example for us here of how to love other people. Love like Will."

A GoFundMe account has also been set up with a goal to help support Spiess' family during this time.

Jay Powell is a general reporter for The Daily Herald. Get up-to-date news in your inbox by subscribing to The Daily Herald newsletter at www.ColumbiaDailyHerald.com.

This article originally appeared on The Daily Herald: 'Loving and kind soul' Will Spiess honored with balloon release