One year ago, a Plainville teen and his friend died by a dangerous dam after jumping into the Farmington River.
Despite a bad actor defacing Lucas Brewer’s memorial on Friday night, loved ones came together to remember him.
“I’m glad we’re all here remembering him,” said Lola Molloy. She said Brewer was “definitely a light in [her] life.”
After an extensive search, the bodies of 15-year-old Brewer and 17-year-old Anthony Nagore were found.
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“It’s not easy, but this was the last place he was, so it’s where I go when I need him,” said Brewer’s mother Glenda Brewer.
In January, a bench was placed along the river in Burlington to remember the teen. On a beautiful summer evening, loved ones came out to honor him.
“I wanted a piece of him here,” Glenda said.
She said he spent a lot of time in the area.
“It’s been tough. I wish he was here,” said Devyn Shover, one of Brewer’s friends.
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But the morning of the memorial, Brewer’s mother got a text that the bench’s plaque had been vandalized, and she almost called off the event.
“I cried and I was like, 'No, not going to river and doing it,' but he deserves it. He deserves to be remembered,” Glenda said.
So they did just that, even emergency responders who searched for the teens one year ago showed up.
“I was here with the whole family dealing with the issue from start to finish. It’s tough,” said EnCon Police Captain Keith Williams.
Sitting on a bench in her son’s memory, Brewer’s mom wants all of us to make memories with the ones we love, “because that’s what got us through this last year.” And think twice before jumping into dangerous waters.
“It’s hot out. The days are long, but don’t jump. You don’t know what you’re jumping into, and you’re loved by someone," Glenda said.
To get to the bench, go to parking lot access number three in Burlington, take a left and walk a quarter of a mile.
Brewer's mother asks anyone who knows or may have saw what happened to the bench, to give police a call. She’s hoping to replace the plaque.
