‘His smile brightened every room’: Remembering the life of high school sophomore Grayson Kennedy

By Spencer Thomas

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    CLARK COUNTY, Washington (KPTV) — Following a deadly car crash that left one Camas teen dead, the family is reminiscing on who the 15-year-old boy was as a person.

Grayson Kennedy was a baseball player, football lineman and sophomore at Camas High School – a teen with a big heart, a vivacious spirit, and a friend to everyone, his older cousin, Sydney Kaster, and uncle, Bronk Williams, said.

In an interview with FOX 12, both Kaster and Williams gave details about the fond memories they have with Grayson.

“He was a son, a brother, a grandson, a nephew, a cousin, a boyfriend, and a friend. He was an outdoorsman, a Christian, a fisherman, a camp kid, a mentor, an animal lover, and a friend,” a letter written by a family member reads.

“Grayson was kind, loving and helpful to everyone,” Kaster said. “He had a very open and warm energy; he would always give everybody hugs at any time he came to the family events. As his older cousin, it was fun watching him go from this cute baby to this sweet boy and then after a little while he was like over 6 feet tall but with the same heart.”

Williams, who works at Camas High School, doubled as Grayson’s uncle and social studies teacher.

“Every day it was a ‘Hi Uncle Bronk’ with a big smile or a high five or something like that. He was also one of those kids who might not have any clue what the answer to the teacher’s question was, but he was still going to guess, still going to try, still raise his hand and say something!”

The Kennedy family posted a GoFundMe account to help with the cost of funeral expenses, and now that the dollar amount is over $56,000 and counting, thanks to generous community members.

With the extra money collected, the family plans to do far more to carry on his memory and help others.

“We would like to start the ‘Grayson Kennedy Foundation’, to make it a long-lasting legacy so that we can celebrate with him,” said Kaster, adding that the extra funds will help build the foundation that will go to financially support local kids in the community who want to play sports or go to camp just like Grayson did.

There are no funeral arrangements set up at this time.

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