Hundreds attend Memorial for Faulkner student-athletes
Football players watch a slide show featuring photos of their fallen teammates after Moday's service
View more photos from the memorial service...
April 27
Hundreds of Faulkner students, faculty and staff joined the families of Ryne Wilhite and Teirson Hollis Monday afternoon at a memorial service for the two Eagles’ football players who lost their lives last week in a traffic accident in Chilton County.
Hundreds in the Faulkner family mourn the loss of two wonderful young men
Faulkner president Dr. Billy Hilyer presented the families of the two student-athletes honorary Bachelor of Science degrees in their chosen fields of study. Hollis, from Douglasville, Ga., was a Legal Studies major, while Wilhite, from New Albany, Miss., was studying Criminal Justice.
Gregg Baker, Faulkner’s head football coach, read a poem he wrote entitled “Remember Us’’ before presenting the families team jerseys and football signed by Eagle players and coaches. The poem is available below.
Heartbreak; Emmitt Williams embraces Teirson's father, Marvin Hollis, after the service
Four Faulkner football players – Sean Thom, Todd Oliver, Robert Britton and Paul Adams - spoke about their fallen teammates. Cornerstone, Faulkner’s four-man quartet, performed “I’ll Fly Away” and “It Is Well With My Soul.”
Also speaking at the 45-minute service was Faulkner Student Government Association president Aaron Greenwood, who is a member of the Eagles’ basketball team. Faulkner assistant coaches Heath Stripling and Donald Johnson also participated in the memorial for the two players who would have been sophomores on the 2009 Faulkner football team.
Doves are released in a tribute to Ryne and Teirson outside the football fieldhouse
Remember Us
To the living, we are gone.
To the sorrowful, we will never return.
To the angry, we were cheated.
To the happy, we are at peace.
To the faithful, we never left.
We cannot be seen, but we can be heard.
So as you push through the tough times, remember us.
As you celebrate life's victories, remember us.
As you cheer our Eagles, remember us.
Remember us, in your heart, your thoughts, and your memories.
The times we've shared, the times we've cried, the times we've laughed.
For if you always think of us, we will have never gone.
Ryne and T, We will never forget you.
BY GREGG BAKER, FAULKNER HEAD FOOTBALL COACH
Coach Baker reads "Remember Us" during ther memorial service
