Tribute to Chace Coe

Chace was loved by family, friends, and neighbors and that was expressed when I flew from NY to Gary, Indiana the morning he was shot. I arrived at the hospital and there were kids lining the walls of the hospital that reminded me of people waiting to get the hottest ticket to the biggest band. They were weary, crying, holding pillows because they had slept in the hallway for word that Chace was going to make it. I didn’t know them because he lived with my grandmother. So I had no idea they were there for him. As I was being escorted by the nurse to his room in ICU she told me these kids are here for him. We normally don’t allow this many people in the waiting room, but we felt they were so distraught we couldn’t turn them away. We arranged with the hospital for each of them to go in sets of two to say goodbye to him. I will hold on to that day because he only had 19 years to make his mark on the lives of others. That day I knew his mark was to love and be loved. As a parent I could not have asked for more of or for him. I will be lighting candles in memory of slain friends, strangers, and above all my only child.