Field Hockey Tournament Remembers Late Teen
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Some Irondequoit High School students used their class project as a way to honor a fellow teen and friend who died last year of meningitis.
It's been more than a year since 16 year old Tyler Putnam passed away. The teen was an avid hockey player.
"For us we actually don't take every day at a time anymore. We take one moment at a time," said Lindsay Putnam, Tyler's father.
On Sunday Lindsay got to share a moment with Tyler's friends and schoolmates at Irondequoit High School.
"Things like this, I don't know if they ever make things easier but they do give us some pockets of joy," he said.
Seniors Alexa Mummery and Victoria Colasurdo held a knee hockey tournament as their business club project in a way to remember Tyler.
"We thought a lot of kids would come out and do it that loved playing with him and were friends with him and we got a pretty good turnout," said Mummery.
They chose the Tyler Putnam Foundation to raise money for. The foundation was set up to help with expenses for hockey families who have gone through tragedy. It will also help fund meningitis research.
"We both felt that it was something personal to us because we both knew Tyler so we thought that it would be a good foundation to pick," said Colasurdo. "We're going to try to carry it on as much as we can."
The event gave his family and friends a fun opportunity to keep his memory alive and his joy for hockey going.
"I can't even express how happy I am that they are doing everything they can to keep Tyler's memory alive and it just makes me so happy that nobody's forgotten him and to see how much he really meant to everyone," said Shannon Putnam, Tyler's sister. "I definitely think he's watching us today and laughing at all the guys."
Click here to learn more about the Tyler Putnam Foundation.