SOUTH BEND, Ind. -- A celebration of the life of Kaylon Woods was held this evening at Madison Oyster Bar in South Bend.
The event was wall-to-wall with friends and family mourning the loss and celebrating the life of Kaylon. There was an open mike so people could share stories and talk about Kaylon's effect on their life. In fact, so many of his loved ones wanted to speak that the open mike speeches went on for two hours, while everyone both laughed and cried.
Spain Crosby, talked about how they met, and how much he admired his friend:
"I met Kaylon back in 2006, we were on the same football team. We both came from down south. We both came from Georgia, and we started our football career at Ball State. Me and Kaylon spent a lot of time together from rides back and forth, early morning workout, late-night, late-night parties, whatever it may be... K was my guy. We had a really great time, and I'll just never forget just the way K would just make everybody around him just feel so loved, so welcoming and just a warm environment. He was a really great person. And the world... really lost somebody special when they do it, when they take K wood away. He's a really great father. He's always been one of my biggest role models. I've seen K work so hard for so long to try to try to provide for his family. And, you know, it just it showed in everything he did and his spirit and his work, everything he did, he just put his all into it, and it was just all about creating a better life for him and his kids. And you know, just watching him do that on a consistent basis really made me want to be a better father and work hard for my family. And you know, it's just very inspiring to see where he started (and) where he came to."
Ronnie Woods, visiting from their home in Georgia, was the father of Kaylon. He expressed his sadness:
"Hearts are very broken, and we're sad today. You lost my son. He meant so much to this community. I had no idea what kind of positive things he's done for this community. Wow, if it's something that I can do to help change what has happened to my son and maybe save someone else, maybe we can curb the violence that has happened here, or say one person, I'm willing to give his interview so that you can say that one person, and hopefully it affects a whole lot of people. He was such a positive role model here, and he did such great things, his outpouring of love, I've been touched by a lot of people that knew him special. I wish there was more people like him.
One of the big things I want to say that if they could take away anything that my son has done, is that we can all get along as a people and understand that we can love each other. And he did that somehow; he managed to make that happen. Can't hurt me from my heart to know that I don't have that I don't have that today, that someone I could come to our channel from him to give back to me, and we give back and forth with each other, but I'm missing that now. He helped a lot. I'm not one for a lot of words, but my son was a part of me. Still have to go on and move on with the rest of my family. We have to actually put him to rest, and I know we're going to miss him, and we're going to love him."