"His impact, his memory -- joyful, everlasting, funny!
"Ornery -- a dear friend, memorable ... coaches will agree with this, he was tenacious on and off the field," Blackhawk football coach Stephen Neal said Wednesday to a packed gymnasium, beginning the memorial for young Ayden Cotton, 15, who died Thursday, Jan. 9.
"We remember Ayden -- the student, the athlete, the employee. But this is what he did, not who he was," Neal said, choking back the tears.
"Ayden was a caring young man -- innocent, he was loving, he was a young man of high character. I never saw or heard of a bad decision that Ayden made. He was athletic, he was a son, a teammate and he was our brother. That's what he was.
"All of us here come to celebrate his passing to God," Neal said. "Thank you, Mr. and Mrs. Cotton and Cotton family for raising Ayden, your blessing from God -- the most precious gift God bestows on a man is a child -- by raising and preparing His gift, your son, to return to Him and his angels."
"Ayden attended church and he was a deeply religious young man. He was a strong Christian and an absolute blessing to everyone who is in this gym," Neal continued. "He was a role model to his team mates, friends, students in hallway.
"He was a precious, precious gift that we got to enjoy. He was an angel on earth full of grace. There's always a specific reason why God allows life events like this to happen even though, most of the time, it's not within our understanding. He's gift we had for 15 years.
"God and his angels can enjoy Ayden's laugh and smile for eternity," Neal said, then quoted Joshua 1:9: "Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."
"Rest in peace, 24. We'll always love you," Neal concluded.
The Blackhawk football team, adorned in their black and red jerseys, sat on one side of the gym. The family sat on the other side of the aisle. Family, friends, classmates, teachers filled the bleachers.
Coach Cody Alexander, "Coach A" to the athletes, said: "Who was Ayden?
"You look around this room and you'll see how many people were impacted by him, who he loved. We got to know him a lot this year."
Alexander shared that often, in team meetings, coaches ask the boys to write down names of persons who influenced them, who were examples to them. He said Ayden always wrote the names of his family members. And, the team mates often wrote Ayden's name on their lists.
"He impacted so many people ... not only people outside of school, but his peers. And, that's the hardest people to impact! So it tells you exactly how special that young man was," he said.
"The kid that was always smiling. The kid that was raised right, because he said 'yes, sir' and 'no, sir' every time you told him something. He was one of the hardest workers that I've ever seen. Most sophomores kind of back down. He jumped right up. He was a brave kid. He was a strong kid -- not only strong physically but in his beliefs and the way he was raised.
"You hear a lot of negative things about the youth today. I promise you that kid was a shining example for everybody in here," Alexander said, stressing that every time anyone from Pea Ridge sees '24', they'll be thinking about Ayden Cotton, the smile and the role model he was.
Several football players, including seniors, stood to share their memories of Ayden and all referred to his smile and his encouragement.
"He always put smiles on other people's faces," David Snarr said. "My last game of the senior season, before the game, I was stressing out and Ayden encouraged me. That will stick with me forever. It helps me to know someday I will see him in heaven."
Again and again, students recalled times over the years of laughing and playing with Ayden, of his smile, his energy, his ability to eat.
"That was a big kid," Uriah Varble, senior, said. "Way bigger than me! This hit me hard, totally shocked. I've never loved a person so much -- that goofy smile on his face."
Senior Lance Nunley told Roy and Jamie Cotton, Ayden's parents: "You know how to raise a good young man. There's very few men of our generation but I counted Ayden as a man because he knew how to treat these boys."
One student remembered their friendship since third grade and Ayden eating his school lunch leftovers. Another said he ate 10 cupcakes after a game. Another recalled a burger eating contest.
Ayden's uncle, Jimmy Anderson shared his memories of Ayden.
"We're proud to be from Pea Ridge," Anderson said, then advised: "Just breathe this breath. Just take this step. Support them. In the months to come, remember them."
The funeral service, held Thursday, Jan. 16, in First Baptist Church, was attended by more than 700 people.
Community on 01/22/2020