The night sky in Blackville was lit up on Saturday evening as family and friends of Thomas Dunn gathered to pay tribute to the 14 year old boy who passed away in June.

The large gathering of people, estimated at one hundred, formed a large circle around the baseball diamond at Blackville’s Centennial Field and listened as Thomas’ aunt Sheri Dunn spoke on behalf of his family:

We would like to thank everybody for coming tonight. We know that Thomas touched each and everyone of you in some way or you wouldn’t be here.

We always knew Tom was special but we honestly didn’t know how many people he touched in a short time. We love him and we want to keep his spirit alive.

Thank you for coming here tonight to help us do that and please know that Tom would want everybody here to live life to the fullest and be happy. We love you guys.

– Dawn, Harry and Aaron

Shortly after, the crowd released a flurry of white and pink Chinese Lanterns into the sky – a beautiful tribute to a one-of-a-kind young man. #neverdunn