Reggie Johnson's life was short and far from perfect. He had been in trouble but managed to straighten up. When he died in a car accident in Clearfield, April 1, he was a young man standing on the verge of a bright future.
Now he's buried in the Syracuse cemetery near the proctor families (foster families in the Youth Corrections system) who came to love him.There's no headstone on his grave because there's no money to pay for it. A small amount of money from his auto insurance and contributions from one of the proctor families paid for part of his burial. The insurance company won't release survivor benefits to cover the remaining costs because he has no survivors. The state of Utah was his next of kin.
During an epidemic decades ago, the state bought grave plots in Ogden. But, Johnson's parole officer opted not to bury him there because he has no family or friends nearby. Instead, he rests quite close to the graves of classmates, where the people who knew and came to love him can visit and remember he was once alive.
"He was no clean, one-owner kid. What hurts is he came around. He was really investing in his life when he was killed," said Stephanie Carter, Department of Human Services.
Johnson's natural parents gave him up for adoption when he was 2; in the foster system, he never found a permanent home. He felt rejection and anger and he got into trouble.
Johnson, 18, had turned his back on the gangs and drugs scene. He was taking the anti-drug message to local schools as part of the DARE (Drug Abuse Resistance Education) program. But his background - including several months at Millcreek Youth Center more than two years ago - stayed with him. At the time of his death, there was speculation he'd been drinking or taking drugs.
That's a lie, said parole officer Ken Kashiwaeda, who hopes the boy will be honored and remembered for conquering his past and making something positive of his life. Toxicity tests found no trace of alcohol or drugs in his system.
"He'd struggled through the system," Kashiwaeda said. "When he went to Clearfield High they accepted him with open arms. He worked really hard in football and was voted co-offensive player of the year on top of being on the state 4A football championship team. He was second-team All State. He was given the chance, and he took it."
Johnson was excited about a full-ride scholarship to Snow Junior College after graduation.
Local police had given Johnson certificates for his anti-drug abuse work. Those certificates are on display at Clearfield High.
State officials believe Reggie Johnson proves you can't "count a kid out" just because he's been in trouble. More than 1,000 people came to his funeral. He mattered. And his friends, like Kashiwaeda, wonder who and what he was about to become.
Caroldyn Francis at Clearfield High School is overseeing a funding effort to buy a headstone.