<!--Rick Pfeiffer--><table width="234" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" background="http://static.cnhi.zope.net/flashpromo/niagaragazette/images/byline_234x60.jpg" height="60"><tr><td><div align="center"><font size="3" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">By Rick Pfeiffer</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br /></font><font size="1" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><a href="mailto:rick.pfeiffer@niagara-gazette.com">rick.pfeiffer@niagara-gazette.com</a></font></div></td></tr></table>
Jonathan Miller may not have physically been on the field of Blakeslee Stadium in Lewiston on Sunday night, but his spirit clearly filled the more than 500 mourners who packed the bleachers for a memorial service for the teen who died a week ago in a one-car accident.
“This has been a very difficult week for the entire Lewiston community,” Lewiston-Porter High School Principal Paul Casseri told the gathering of both teens and adults. “I’ve been in education for 20 years and have never seen a young man who touched so many people.”
Miller, 17, a senior varsity football player who was immensely popular with his classmates, died when the SUV he was driving veered off Lewiston Road and slammed into a tree. Emergency personnel said they found Miller pinned in the car with no vital signs.
He was wearing a seat belt and the SUV’s airbag had deployed.
“Jonathan Miller will never be forgotten,” said Chelsea Pelsone, a friend and member of the Lew-Port High Class of 2010. “We will miss his laugh and miss his smile. He was a kind person and the greatest example of what a good person is. He is now an angel watching over us.”
Pelsone told the mourners Miller “gave us hope and faith to continue on.”
“Live by faith, one day at a time (Miller) used to say,” Pelsone recalled.
Varsity football coach Richard Lindamer told the gathering that Miller’s jersey, No. 76, will be retired at a special ceremony at the homecoming game next year.
“J-Mill was a very special guy,” Lindamer said. “A great teammate and a special person.
As he spoke of Miller, Lindamer’s voice choked with emotion.
“We will miss him greatly,” the coach said. “He will be remembered for what is really important, not the wins or losses, but the friendships we build and the time we spend together.”
Lindamer told Miller’s parents and siblings, “Your strength, compassion and love have been inspiring. You have our deepest sympathies.”
His teammates told those in the stadium that Miller was “big-hearted” and “never let anything get in his way.”
“This has to be the hardest time of my life,” teammate Joe Meyers said while choking back tears.
Amid hundreds of flickering candles and after the high school senior choir sang “Amazing Grace,” Miller’s sister, Alyssa, told his classmates, teachers and friends that his family was grateful for all that’s been done to remember him.
Wearing her brother’s football jersey, she said, “It’s made us feel the best we could. ‘J’ lived, breathed and loved Lewiston-Porter.”
