Family Hopes To Keep Memory Of Teen Alive With Broncos Memorial Service
DENVER (CBS4)- Kathy Gliver and her family are all native Coloradans, and like many other good Colorado families, they are huge Broncos fans.
"My kids, everybody would be at the house cheering the Broncos on yelling and screaming. It's a family thing that we do. It's a great big party at grandma's house for the Broncos," said Gilver.
Maybe the biggest fan of them all was her grandson Tyler Vitt.
"Oh yeah!" Chuckles Kathy. "He would have been the next barrel man," jokes his brother Nicolas Strimple.
Tyler's life was cut short recently at the age of just 14 years old. He was struck by a car outside of his home.
Kathy says through tears, "This is unfair."
Her family friend Janey Grenz says, "It was a very big tragedy that happened."
Tyler's family says there was so much left undone. One of the biggest things, being able to take him to see his beloved Broncos play at Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
"We couldn't afford it. We would only go if friends had extra tickets or free tickets," says brother Nicolas.
Now, even though Tyler has gone, they are still trying to give him the one thing he always wanted. They want to have his memorial service inside Broncos Stadium at Mile High.
"Maybe he'll be the bird that flies over and sees how much we love him. This is so hard, (but) we just wanted to do this for him" says grandma Kathy.
It comes as no surprise that it is an expensive proposition. About $3,000. So, they're calling on Broncos country to help them give Tyler one last Broncos sunset from Mile High.
"So that way there's a little bit of happiness in this dark time" said Janey.
LINK: Tyler Vitt's GoFundMe Page
Michael Abeyta is a 4th generation Coloradan and a Multimedia Journalist for CBS4. His stories can be seen on CBS4 News at 5 & 6. He is on Twitter! Follow him @AbeytaCBS4.
