One thing was obvious Saturday at the memorial service for fallen UVA football student-athletes Devin Chandler, Lavel Davis Jr. and D’Sean Perry – that there are 125 young men, their friends, fellow classmates, teammates, who are torn apart.
“How blessed are we to have been able to get to know these young men in our lives?” said fifth-year Jack Camper, one of a dozen of the UVA football teammates to speak at the memorial service at the John Paul Jones Arena for the three young men murdered Sunday night on Grounds.
More than 9,000 people gathered for a memorial service for the fallen, and for two other UVA students, Marlee Morgan and football student-athlete Mike Hollins.
The nearly two-hour service welcomed the families of those killed and those injured in the shooting, which occurred at the end of a class field trip to take in a play in Washington, D.C.
“This tragedy has pushed me to my limits. But God is faithful. My faith sustains me,” said Athletics Director Carla Williams, who also noted her concern for the students on the bus who had to witness the shootings, the professor who organized the trip and the bus driver.
Williams has spent time with family members of the three who lost their lives on Sunday since their tragic deaths, and shared some of their stories of their lost loved ones.
Of Chandler, who transferred to UVA after two years at Wisconsin, she talked about “Devin, the Dancing Machine,” whose “rhythm was suspect, but his confidence was never in doubt,” she joked.
Davis, when he went home, Williams said, wanted to sit in the front row at church, in spite of being 6’7″, and knowing it would make it hard for people to see over him.
He didn’t want to miss anything, Davis said.
Williams told a story about Perry, a linebacker and artist, who, when he was 6 years old, he wanted to be a red Power Ranger for Halloween.
He wore the costume for Halloween, and didn’t take it off until after Thanksgiving, Williams said.
The day was full of these kind of stories, interspersed with reflections from friends who had a hard time sharing their memories.
“It’s hard for me to see the pain and suffering for everybody that has been caused by this trauma,” football student-athlete Lorenz Terry said, who said he loved Chandler “like a brother, and I will always keep him close to me.”
Cody Brown read aloud a letter that he wrote to Devin Chandler, with tributes to Chandler, who transferred in the spring, highlighting his “joy for life,” which was “contagious.”
“I’ll never forget you saying you wouldn’t let anyone stop you from achieving your dreams,” Brown said.
“We were fortunate and blessed to have you in our lives, and your impact on us is ever-lasting,” Brown said.
Jared Rayman shared with those in attendance a letter that he wrote to Davis.
“How you treated others was a direct reflection on how you were raised,” Rayman said of Davis, a 2020 freshman All-America wide receiver.
“I hope everyone here today has someone in their lives who impacts them as much as you impacted mine,” Rayman said.
Elijah Gaines also memorialized Davis, talking about how the wideout loved his hometown, Ridgeville, S.C.
“He could make Ridgeville sound like it was the biggest city in the world. I’m pretty sure it’s only, like, 2,000 people in there,” said Gaines, a native of New York City, who remembered that Davis had a “187” tattoo, and said he asked him why he had that tattooed on his body.
“That’s my exit, man,” he said Davis told him.
“Your exit?”
“Yeah, man, that’s where I’m from,” Davis said.
“Physically, he may not be here with us, but he’s forever in our hearts,” Gaines said.
Donovan Johnson was the first to offer reflections on D’Sean Perry.
“He could make you laugh. He had the type of personality to light up a room,” Johnson said.
Last week, in the UVA Football loss to Pitt, Johnson recalled Perry being aggressive after a play, and being out of the game by an assistant coach.
“He asked the coach, Yo, why you take me off?
“Because you were fighting,” the coach said.
“Yeah, I was,” Perry admitted.
“I appreciate every moment I had with him. Just being able to laugh with him all the time,” Johnson said.
“It was an honor to be in his presence. He always wanted to make everybody around him a better person,” Johnson said.
Josh McCarron said Perry “was the brother that I didn’t know I needed..”
Ben Smiley said Perry always told him life was more than important than football, “and I didn’t know what he meant.”
“To me, football was life,” Smiley said.
Placekicker Will Bettridge and Perry attended the same high school, Gulliver Prep, in Miami.
“A piece of my life was taken from me and the Cavalier community,” Bettridge said.
Bettridge followed in Perry’s footsteps from little league football through high school to UVA.
“Your presence was felt each and every time I was able to step on the field with you,” Bettridge said.
“The world would be a better place with more people like you, D’Sean,” Bettridge said.
Hunter Stewart said Perry was a “modern-day example of a Renaissance man,” with his love of art, so many different genres of music.
“D’Sean was a man of many talents,” Stewart said.
Nick Jackson said Perry started every conversation with “Hey, man,” regardless of the topic.
“You had a one-day-at-a-time mentality, a one-rep-at-a-time mentality,” Jackson said.
“You were my earthly protector, and now I have no doubt, you are my heavenly protector,” Jackson said.
“I promise to carry your legacy with me,” Jackson said.
Share
Chris Graham
