Jeremiah Essien had a heart to match his muscular frame, and it was that heart that made people call him “Big ‘Miah,” friends and family said before a candlelight vigil Monday night.
“Little kids would run up to him to get a hug and a smile,” said Anastacia Cox, the mother of the 16-year-old killed in traffic trying to catch a bus on Sept. 5.
Jeremiah’s former rugby teammates at East High School were making plans Monday to attend his visitation Tuesday from 4 to 7 p.m. at Taylor Mortuary at 15507 E. Colfax Ave. in Aurora.
His funeral is 11 a. m. Wednesday at CCI Charter School at 11200 E. 45th Ave. in Montbello, where he was enrolled.
Monday night, 10 friends and family members gathered at the bus stop at 14th Street and Federal Boulevard, where Jeremiah died. They prayed and laughed about his joyful spirit, even as No. 30, which Jeremiah had been riding, came and went.
Across the adjoining parking lot, Avondale Liquors owner Andy DeMattee recalled other pedestrians killed at the five-lane intersection in the 30 years he has owned the business.
Jeremiah was hustling off one city bus to catch another bus across the street.
DeMattee said the teenager crashed onto the hood of a sport-utility vehicle.
“The police said, essentially, it was his fault,” Jeremiah’s mother said Monday.
At King Soopers in Mayfair Plaza at 13th Avenue and Krameria Street, where Jeremiah worked, friends remembered his warmth and humor Monday.
“He always said he wanted to be a comedian, and he was real funny,” said Eddie Anthony, 18, who had attended East High with Jeremiah.
Customer Harv Bondurant said he was sad to hear the news about the “gentle giant.”
“He had a real nice way about him,” Bondurant said.
“You couldn’t say no to that kid. He insisted on helping. He was so talkative and so friendly, you could tell he liked people.”
Jeremiah’s cousin Emem Ekiko, 23, remembered how he loved to dance.
“Our family had hoped he’d really go far,” she said. “I attended CU, and he always said he was going to be ‘my’ engineer. He had lots of goals for his life.”
Jeremiah’s mother counted her blessings for having a good son who cared so much for the feelings of others, who friends said never had an unkind word to say about anyone else.
“Jeremiah — I’m not going to say ‘was’ — is a blessing to so many others,” she said. “He always will be.”
Joey Bunch: 303-954-1174 or jbunch@denverpost.com
