Parkside Junior High School seventh-grader Edder Diaz, who died in a fire earlier this month, was remembered fondly Saturday in a way his friends and family say the young athlete would have loved — with a smiling crowd cheering on runners.
Edder, who was a member of the PJHS track and cross-country teams, died Nov. 8 — the morning of his 13th birthday. He was a patient at St. John’s Hospital in Springfield, being treated for injuries suffered in a house fire earlier that week.
The cause of the fire remains under investigation. On Saturday, Normal Fire Chief Mick Humer said a report likely would come in December.
Edder’s older sister, Nicky Olivares of Bloomington, was among participants in the Redder for Edder Walk/Run, the name a play on the boy's favorite color. She told WGLT the enormous turnout warmed her heart.
“It’s beautiful that everyone is coming in together, and [I’m] really hoping that we can get some education or resources to help prevent fires in his honor,” she said. “He loved running. So, to see all these people out here is absolutely amazing. I’m so proud that he was able to bring everyone together, and so proud of the young man that he was.”
Organizers said more than 800 people registered as participants prior to the event. But more signed up at the race too. Additional people came to enjoy the festivities that included a silent auction of gift baskets, the Pizza Payaa food truck and commemorative T-shirts, all to support the Diaz family.
Paul Bliss, who is PJHS head cross-country coach, said the Redder for Edder event is a threefold mission:
“No. 1: We’re honoring his memory. No. 2 we’re raising funds for his family to help cope with this tragic loss. No. 3, this is an opportunity for our community to come together and grieve together and begin the healing process,” he said. “He lives in our hearts, and we have to be out here for him.”
Planning the event has been therapeutic for cross-country families, said Bliss. It’s also been important to the Diaz family, he said, helping them get through the past few weeks. He called Saturday’s turnout “remarkable.”
“In the last 24 hours, it’s gotten huge,” said Beth Tumilty, a race volunteer. Her daughter, Maddie Hanks, a PJHS sixth-grader, ran cross-country with Edder. The tragedy has been hard on the kids, said Tumilty, “but it’s really unified everyone, and brought everyone together.”
Many attendees wore red, the seventh-grader’s favorite color. A sea of red-clad runners took off at 9 a.m. from the Maxwell Park starting point of the 3-mile course, on the PJHS campus and nearby Maxwell Park.
Others, including several with strollers and wagons in tow carrying younger participants, took a slower paced walk through the course.
Friends and family recall Edder as generous and kind
PJHS parent Nathan Schumacher volunteered Saturday, cheering on runners as they hit the 2-mile mark.
“Good job runners! 1 mile left, 1 mile left,” he shouted as he applauded each person in their numbered bib passing. Schumacher’s twins Evan and Jayden Schumacher are eighth-graders who ran cross-country with Edder. After the race, the boys shared some of their memories of their friend who they described as very kind, and always helpful.
Aiden Reed, a PJHS sixth-grader on the cross-country team, said at first he was in denial about Edder’s death. But he’s starting to accept it. He and his friends are wearing red pins for Edder on their school lanyards, he said.
“He was the most cheerful person on the team. He was very selfless. He always gave away his snacks to people [at meets],” said Aiden, breaking into a wide smile remembering his friend.
Cesar Cruz Rebollo, a sophomore at Bloomington High School, took part in the run Saturday, along with his father Celerino Cruz, also of Bloomington.
They both knew Edder, and came out to support his family. Cesar said he and his mom used to babysit Edder when he was younger. “I remember him being nice, funny, energetic,” said Cesar. He recalled a trip to the pool when Edder was about 8 years old. “He made friends with everyone there.”
Celerino Cruz said in Spanish that he’s very sad for their friend Edder’s mother Adriana Garcia. But he’s glad for her that today’s event brought so many people out, and is bringing a little bit of joy to Edder’s family and friends.
Besides running, Edder also enjoyed taekwondo. But his interests reached beyond sports. He played trombone in the PJHS band and had recently been accepted into the String Project at Illinois State University.
Some PJHS classmates talked Saturday about Edder’s love for the character Sonic the Hedgehog, and how in the days after the fire, PJHS students got teachers’ permission to make a logo that featured Sonic with a trombone. Mya Martin, wearing a Santa hat Saturday in honor of Edder's favorite holiday being Christmas, recalled everyone working on the drawing. “It had a trombone too,” she said.
Coach Bliss said event organizers hope to make the 3-mile Redder for Edder Walk/Run an annual event in Edder’s memory. He also is organizing a tree to be planted in Edder’s memory, he said.
In addition to Saturday’s fundraising event, a GoFundMe page has been established to help Edder's family, who lost their home and all belongings in the Nov. 2 fire.
Edder's funeral was Nov. 14 at St. Mary’s Catholic Church in Bloomington.
Edder recognized for saving others
About an hour before the race began Saturday, people gathered near the school’s flagpole for a related event. There, a solemn, bilingual, Gift of Hope flag-raising ceremony unfolded, recognizing Edder’s legacy as an organ donor, and including a moment of silence.
Early Nov. 2, NFD responded to a fire in the Diaz residence, in the Northmeadow Village mobile home community off Raab Road. Another person was in the home and managed to escape the fire, running to a neighbor’s house and calling 911. Upon arrival, Normal firefighters located Edder in a bedroom and pulled him unconscious from the home.
After initial treatment, Edder was transported to St. John's in Springfield, where he remained hospitalized until his Nov. 8 death. At that time, Gift of Hope helped Edder's tragedy offer the chance at lifesaving transplants for several other people.
PJHS staff, students and families were among the crowd. At the front, with Gift of Hope staff, stood Edder’s family and friends including his mother, Adriana Garcia Lopez of Normal, his father Edder R. Diaz of New Jersey, and his maternal grandfather Francisco Garcia, of Coacalco, Mexico.
Garcia Lopez told WGLT before the race she’s doing the best she can, taking one day at a time.
“My son was a very kind, and loving person. I miss him so much,” she said. “Every morning, before I’d go to work he’d say ‘Mom, I love you’ and when I’d return from work, always he’d say ‘Give me a hug, and then he hugged me.’ He was a very, very nice boy.”
During the event, Garcia Lopez gave remarks in Spanish, sharing her devastation at losing her son, and thanking the crowd for their support. Edder’s sister Nicky Oliveras also addressed the crowd, recounting the night of the fire. She called Normal firefighters heroes for risking their lives to save her brother.
“At the hospital I was able to hug and kiss my brother. … I read every letter from his peers, friends, and teachers. I even watched my last movie with him K-Pop Demon Hunters. This was only possible for your courageous act. My gratitude for you all is beyond words,” she said.
Oliveras also thanked the medical professionals in Springfield who cared for Edder during his last week, as well as the entire Bloomington-Normal community.
“You all have shown incredible kindness,” she said. “Your outpouring of love and support has filled our hearts to the brim,” said Edder’s sister.
As part of the ceremony, PJHS track coach Angie Lawless and cross-country coach Paul Bliss presented Edder’s family with a framed memento that included his track and cross-country jerseys, the latter signed by his teammates.
Normal Fire Chief Mick Humer said during the ceremony that he and Normal firefighters grieve with the Diaz family in Edder’s death. He thanked the crowd for coming to Saturday’s event and standing with the family during the hardest time in their lives.
“Even in this heartbreaking moment, we see incredible strength. Today shows how a community can respond … with love, action and support. Your presence sends a message that the Diaz family is not alone,” said Humer. “While nothing can remove the loss, the kindness we show today becomes part of Edder’s legacy.”
He said the community can honor Edder by remembering him in words, and action – supporting his family, and keeping the community safe. Humer and Normal Fire Inspector Matt Swaney highlighted NFD’s free smoke alarm installation program.
“Please help us spread the word about this program so that every home gets the protection it deserves,” Swaney said.
