KETTERING — Oak Park in Kettering is where Jessica Combs wants her son, Ronnie Bowers, to never be forgotten.
A few dozen people joined his family Wednesday night for a candlelight vigil to remember the 16-year-old Kettering Fairmont High School student who was gunned down after leaving AlterFest in Kettering in 2016.
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Bowers was driving friends home from the festival that night when he was hit in the back of the head by gunfire aimed at a group of people who had gotten into a fight with another group of people. Kylen Gregory, then 16 and who fired that fateful shot, remains in prison on an 11-year sentence. Miles Heizer, then 18, who was driving the other car that night, was sentenced to 24 months in prison for his role in the killing.
Oak Park is where the vigil was held, the place Combs said her son played tag at night with neighborhood kids, she told News Center 7′s Brandon Lewis.
“He was a good kid,” Ronnie’s grandfather, Richard Glover, said. “And as you can see from the gathering, there was a lot of people that cared about him and loved him.”
Family members said no one ever had anything negative to say about Ronnie.
“He was really, really funny. He was very sweet, he we was very kind,” Combs said.
Ronnie’s brother, Jesse Koch, said Ronnie was easy to get along with and was a smart, good-looking dude.
These are the memories Ronnie’s family holds most dear, especially when the calendar speaks of the day he died -- the day family calls his Angel Anniversary.
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“And instead of being down and depressed and sad this time of year, Ronnie’s angel anniversary, we’re able to come together and celebrate that and make it a time of joy and really remember Ronnie,” Combs said.
The ceremony included the release of butterflies and poetry readings.
But what has helped her most in dealing with her grief has been knowing Ronnie was an organ donor and she has been able to meet some of the recipients.
“We were all strangers before this and with Life Connections of Ohio we were able to contact and connect with each other so that’s been really great,” Combs said. “We call ourselves Ronnie’s forever family.”
The night was full of messages, including a very pointed one aimed at the reason Ronnie lost his life.
“The violence has got to stop,” said Glover, Ronnie’s grandfather. “we’re losing our kids, that’s the future of our country and we’re losing them to violence.”
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