Twin Lakes athlete remembered as 'gentle giant' at candlelight vigil
MONTICELLO, Ind. — Kayvion Jackson graduated from Twin Lakes High School on May 28. His grandmother Pearlie remembers the excitement on his face and the dream that he wanted to share with her.
“I would just like to say one quick thing that Kayvion told me on graduation day. I told him, ‘I’m so proud of you. I’m so glad that I’m your granny. I love you so much.’ He said, ‘Granny, I’m going to the NFL.’ I said, ‘You are?’ And he said, ‘Yeah, when I get rich, I’m going to take care of you,” said Jackson’s grandmother, Pearlie.
Last Sunday, just over a week later, the Monticello, Ind., community received the heart-wrenching news that Jackson died. The White County coroner told the Journal & Courier a cause of death may take weeks to determine.
Twin Lakes: Autopsy on football standout could take weeks
Jackson had a college football career awaiting him at Indiana Wesleyan University.
“I knew he was determined, he was determined to go to the NFL. And I love that kid so much. I miss him. Like I told you, all our hearts are shattered. They’re broken into small pieces.”
These words exemplified the feelings shared among the hundreds of people who gathered at the candlelight vigil held for Jackson at the Twin Lakes High School football field Wednesday night.
At the base of the school’s bleachers stood hi family – his mother and father, Crystal and Daniel Jackson, his two brothers, Kahari Jackson and Kris Goodlow, and his uncle Joseph and Grandma Pearlie.
As 9 p.m. drew closer, the groups of friends and families began to arrive on the field.
Twin Lakes High School Football Coach Kevin Anderson began to say a few words about Jackson, but soon realized that the crowd had grown too large for him to speak without a microphone.
He proceeded up to the press box to turn on the speakers so everyone could hear.
“I just want to thank everyone for coming out. He was a special young man, great family in the community. Nothing like our community to band together and help a family in need,” said Anderson.
“When I got that call Sunday morning, it was a call I never thought would happen. Like most of us, I thought it was a dream. A bad dream. But it is the reality.
“I don’t know really what to do. Kayvion growing up, starting as a joke, he would get on Google and look up, ‘Kayvion’. He’d look at those little pictures for Kayvion. He did that for years. He grew up to be quite the young man.”
Afterward, Anderson leads the crowd in prayer for Jackson.
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in Me will live, even though he dies. And everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die,” John 11:25-26.
“Through all this, Kayvion was going to Indiana Wesleyan University in the fall to play football. I thought his coach kind of summed it up good. Indiana Wesleyan coach said, ‘Kayvion’s kindness, determination and humility is what made him a special person.’ I couldn’t have said it better myself,” said Anderson
From there, people began to pass around the mic and share their memories of Jackson.
The mic eventually got to Jackson’s brother, Kris, who began to share his memories of his family’s gentle giant.
“I remember when I was 6 or 7, I was in pre-school and my grandma was my pre-school teacher. I remember walking to the car, I remember this, my mom told me, ‘Hey, you’re going to be an older brother.’ And I was like, ‘What?’
“Fast forward now, and he turned into shapes. Kayvion turned into shapes as he got older. This is crazy. This man turned round. This is maybe in between 8 to 10, he got round. I was the tallest out of all of them. Fast forward to maybe 13 to 15. This man turned to 6-5 by the time I came back home from college! I see him, 6-5 and 220 pounds. I’m looking at him like this, I have to fall away from him just to look at him eye to eye. That man was huge.
“I went to go see him in his first football game being that huge.
“Seeing him running through people, was like holy cow. And then next thing you know, eventually when he gets home, excuse my language, he gets his a** kicked by me. I don’t know how this man is 6-5. He’s taller than everybody else. The point is, man, this man is my gentle giant.
“He’s my big guy. That was my security guard, that was my guy. I hate to say it, but that was my guy.”
As the sun began to set, the candles began to light up. His mother Crystal wanted to share one more thing with the crowd before the sun left.
“Mamas, hold onto your babies. Love on them. Tell them you love. Tell them three, four, five times a day. I can tell my boys countless times, every day. And they’re like, ‘Mama, you already told me that.’ Well, I’m telling you again. Mamas, hold onto your babies, love on your babies. My baby is not here, and I don’t know what to do, how to feel. My heart is broken. So, mamas, let them babies know you love them. Kiss on them.”
As she finished, the sun fell over the horizon.
In honor of Jackson, the crowd held a moment of silence before the hundreds began to walk a lap around the track.
A parade of candle lights could be seen slowly marching around the turns of the track. For every hundred meters that the crowd walked, the Jacksons walked about ten.
By the time the crowd returned to the Jacksons, the sun had officially gone to bed. In its place was the moon, which lit up the track for the Jacksons.
Noe Padilla is a reporter for the Journal & Courier. Email him at Npadilla@jconline.com and follow him on Twitter at 1NoePadilla.
This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Twin Lakes' Kayvion Jackson remembered as 'gentle giant' at vigil
