One week after drowning, family and friends remember 7-year-old Kyzr Willis at vigil
A cloud of purple, green, and white Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle balloons floated into the sky in South Boston Tuesday night as family and friends mourned the loss of Kyzr Willis, the 7-year-old who drowned last week while attending a city-run day camp.
“For us, [this vigil] means a lot,” John Baker, Kyzr’s uncle, told Boston.com. “There’s no such thing as closure when it comes to the loss of a 7-year-old … but we wanted the chance to thank the first responders and everyone who searched for him tirelessly.”
Family and friends gathered outside of the Curley Community Center to remember Kyzr Willis. Kyzr’s uncle, John Baker, right, addressed the crowd.
A group of about 50 people gathered outside the Curley Community Center at around 6:30 p.m., many bringing flowers, toys, stuffed animals, and even a giant ninja turtle balloon to join a small white cross set up as a makeshift memorial to honor Kyzr. Some family members also wore purple and green, and 10-year-old Jacob Sampson had “RIP Kyzr” shaved into his hair.
The family then released their balloons at 7:09 p.m., the same time the week prior that they “got the news [they] didn’t want to get,” Baker said to the crowd.
Police have ruled Kyzr’s death an accidental drowning. Police said Kyzr wandered away from the camp and back toward the beach unnoticed last Tuesday. His body was discovered in the water hours later after an extensive and “chaotic” search.
Baker described his nephew as “the ultimate healthy and energetic 7-year-old” who “always smiled.”
“He was just a great kid, an amazing child,” Baker said. “If you were having a bad day, being around him your day just was not as bad.”
Kyzr Willis.
Kyzr’s parents, Ralph Toney and Melissa Willis, both of Dorchester, were not present at the vigil, but described their son as an “energetic soul” with a “heartwarming smile” in his obituary.
Not all in attendance knew Kyzr, but said they felt it was important to pay their respects.
“I’m a father,” one attendee told Boston.com. “This is every parent’s worst nightmare.”
The city-run day camp reopened Tuesday, a week after Kyzr’s death. The city announced new safety standards for all the city’s drop-in programs Friday, and the center’s staff participated in a full-day training on the new procedures prior to returning to the Curley Community Center.
The new procedures at the center include a headcount of all campers every 60 minutes, increased front desk staffing to ensure no child leaves the facility without an adult, and a minimum camper-to-adult ratio of 10-to-2 for all children ages 6 and under. The center will also require all children who enter the ocean to wear a life preserver at all times, with a maximum of 10 children and two staff members allowed in the water at any given time.
A wake for Kyzr is scheduled for Wednesday and a funeral for Thursday at the Morning Star Baptist Church in Mattapan.
A memorial at the Curley Community Center for Kyzr Willis.
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