Thousands Mourn Columbine High School Shooting Victim Isaiah Shoels

Jet, May 17, 1999

More than 5,000 mourners gathered at Heritage Christian Center in Denver to say a final good-bye to 18-year-old Isaiah Shoels, the lone Black student killed in the Columbine High School shooting massacre.

Shoels, a popular student-athlete, was the last of the 13 victims to be buried as a result of the tragic shooting at the Littleton High School. He was dressed in his graduation cap and gown, an ensemble he looked forward to wearing in only a few weeks. Inside his silver casket, draped with flowers, was the diploma he would have received.

The deeply embedded pain was evident on the faces of Michael and Vonda Shoels, whose son had been gunned down because his killers, two crazed classmates, hated athletes and hated Blacks.

Martin Luther King III, whose father, the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was assassinated, told the Shoels family that he identified with their pain.

"I stand before you this afternoon as a victim of violence," King, president of the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, said at the funeral that lasted more than three hours. "I understand. I was 10 when my father was gunned down."

He also urged the country to abolish hate, and to heed the words of his great father.

"There is something tragically wrong with a nation in which youth worship Adolf Hitler, then go on a killing spree on his birthday," he added.

The Rev. W.A. Collins, Vonda Shoels' father, spoke of the senselessness of the crime that killed his grandson and other youth.

"This is America, land of the freeand home of the brave," he said. "But we have a problem when our children are trying to prove it. I'm tired of laying to rest politicians, businessmen, musicians, athletes and others who were robbed of their dreams ..."

Isaiah's funeral not only represented the last of the dead being laid to rest, it also represented the first step forward for Littleton.

"This is the last piece," said Rev. Larry Russell, executive pastor of the Center. "Now the healing begins. I don't think the healing could begin until today."

Gov. Bill Owens reflected on all of the victims. "I didn't have the privilege of knowing Isaiah. And I didn't know the boy that we buried yesterday or the child that we buried on Tuesday and Monday or Sunday or Saturday. But I do know that these were good children."

Rev. Patrick Demmer, who officiated at the services, said the time should be spent celebrating Isaiah's life. "I know there is some sadness here. But we're going to celebrate. We didn't come here to celebrate the devil's work; we're going to praise God."

The celebration of Isaiah's life included beautiful songs and memorable tributes to the short, stout weight lifter who was known around campus as "Little Man."

Columbine High School principal Frank DeAngelis talked about the popularity of Isaiah, who had aspired to attend college and become a record executive.

"If Isaiah was in the cafeteria, there was a group of people around Isaiah," he said. "People wanted to be around Isaiah. Isaiah Shoels, thank you for having such a positive impact on our school and on our family. You will be greatly missed, and I love you my dear child."