Mural unveiled in Rio's honor

Jul. 1—ELKHART — A crowd gathered on High Street Thursday afternoon to sing "Happy Birthday" to Rio Allred as her grandfather, Jeff Bliler, unveiled a mural in her honor.

Family and friends smiled and cried as the curtain dropped, revealing the mural — a memorial to the Northside Middle School seventh-grader who committed suicide March 14 after being bullying for recently developed alopecia.

"I remember the day, 13 years ago today, when Rio came into this world," her grandfather said. "Just right from the very beginning, those eyes and that smile just melted your heart, and she just exuded everything that was good, kindness and love, loyalty, and that's a little bit of what we've tried to capture here today."

Bliler and his wife Sarah, grandparents of Allred, who would have turned 13 Thursday, wanted to do something more to celebrate their grandchild's memory. They took advantage of their company's building, at House Call Home Inspection of Northern Indiana Inc., 314 S. Fourth St., Elkhart, to make it happen.

"I just felt a personal need to do something where Rio can be a permanent part of the community," Bliler said.

Annie Logan, a real estate agent who often works with the Blilers, was more than willing to step up. Her mural displays many of the things Allred loved — Minecraft, Harry Potter, gardening, and even her precious guinea pig.

"I want [people] to feel inspired by kindness," Logan said of her mural.

Allred's mother, Nicole Ball, was noticeably emotional when the mural was unveiled.

"It's so magical," she said. "It's so perfect. She gathered so much of Rio in that amount of space and it's saying everything that we're trying to say and everything that's we're trying to do."

Ball said she wants people to visit the mural and read the quotes and remember them in their daily lives.

Logan said without the help of her family, it would have taken her a year to complete the piece. The night before the mural was unveiled, Logan and her assistants pulled an all-nighter to finish the mural.

Elkhart Mayor Rod Roberson was also in attendance.

"While we probably are all connected in one way or another, I never knew Rio personally, but through this tragedy and through the other side of life that we're living right now, I've gotten to know her a whole lot better and that has made me a better man as well," Roberson said.

Roberson said he didn't know Logan was working on the project throughout the three weeks, day and night.

The mural is a reminder, but in the end it is just a painting, he said, adding that people need to step up and speak for those who cannot speak for themselves.

"There are people in silence right now that are suffering and going through instances that they need someone to be there for them," he said.

And that, Roberson said, is what all of this is about: be that person who speaks up for those who cannot speak for themselves.

Bliler shared an additional thought.

"One of my favorite things about this mural is that it's interactive," he said.

The mural boasts a pair of wings where visitors can come and take a photo of themselves with the wings, and Bliler hopes people will post it to the Rio's Rainbow Facebook page.

Rio's Rainbow is a nonprofit organization created by the family, focused on standing up to bullying. For more information visit riosrainbow.org.

Joseph Weiser is a photojournalist for The Goshen News. Contact him at joseph.weiser@goshennews.com or at 574-538-2349 or (cell) 574-202-8479.