ROANOKE, Va. – Burying a child — it’s something no one wants to do, but Friday, Kierston Cole will lay her fifteen-year-old son to rest.
“Have you gotten the chance to really take a breath and think about tomorrow?” 10 News Reporter Abbie Coleman asked.
“No, one step at a time. And I’m not trying to think about tomorrow,” Kierston said.
Her son Isaac Cunningham was killed on his way home from school last month.
Thursday, she decided to take that walk and talk with Coleman about his funeral plans.
“I’m doing okay, it’s beautiful. It’s peaceful, I think it’s going to be my new walk,” Kierston said.
She’ll take that same walk Friday, surrounded by friends, family and the community that has stood by her side.
“We’re gonna take Isaac’s last walk to and from school. He didn’t get to finish his walk for his sophomore year, so we’re gonna finish it strong for him,” Kierston said.
The walk starts near Isaac’s house, then they’ll take a moment to stop and reflect near the Ferncliff Apartment complex where he was shot.
“We might still be sad from the service, but when we get over to this side, we’re going to leave our sadness here. And when we go back over, we’re going to celebrate, because Isaac wasn’t a sad person. He didn’t cry. He cried maybe three times his whole life maybe. So we will celebrate and be joyful afterwards,” Kierston said.
Before that walk, is the service. Something Kierston wants to be untraditional, and a testament to Isaac’s faith.
“Wear white because Isaac was pure. I truly believe Isaac went to heaven. I know he did, he knew Christ for himself. We’re gonna wear all white so when Isaac sees us, we can look like the angel’s choir. I know he’ll laugh and say, ‘My mom did that.’”
Kierston carries a piece of Isaac wherever she goes. And hopes his final walk will bring attention to youth gun violence.
“As someone who hadn’t lost a child, it was painful. But to have lost a child and now have to wake up every day and this is our reality, there’s no way to describe the pain,” she said.
But it’s her faith that keeps her taking one step forward at a time.
“I think when you have that faith, it doesn’t make it easier, but there’s hope,” Coleman said.
“It makes it way lighter,” Kierston said.
Isaac’s funeral service will be held on Friday, June 21 at noon at Pilgrim Baptist Church.
Family will receive friends starting at 11 a.m.
They ask that everyone wears white.
If you would like to join in on Isaac’s final walk, Kierston asks you meet on Portland Avenue and Lewiston Street at Countryside Park directly following the service.