- Sullivan family plans private ceremony to mourn Asher
- Another prayer vigil for Asher set Monday night
- Thousands show support for Asher and his family
- Sullivan describes Asher as a boy who 'loved everyone'
In his latest social media post, shared Sunday, Rutherford County Schools Director James "Jimmy" Sullivan spoke openly about his family's grief after the death of his youngest son, Asher, and noted that a hero walk would soon take place for the boy at the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt.
"The feeling is surreal," Sullivan wrote less than 24 hours after sharing late Saturday night that Asher, 10, had died. "Asher is officially 'deceased' with the lack of brain function, but due to organ donation, we are still in the room with him and his heart still beats. TDS (Tennessee Donor Services) is lining up donors so that Asher can promote life in others, but this is painful."
'We are broken-hearted':Asher Sullivan, the storm injured son of schools director, has died
Asher has been at Vanderbilt since May 8. He was critically injured after being sucked into a storm drain in his Christiana neighborhood on the southside of Rutherford County.
Asher was playing with other kids in the water that had accumulated in the street while neighbors gathered to begin the cleanup process after severe storms moved through Middle Tennessee when he somehow "got caught in the storm drain and was swept under the neighborhood streets," Sullivan previously wrote on social media./
"We will conduct an honor walk within the next day or so as we walk Asher down the halls of the hospital to the OR to see him one final time," Sullivan wrote Sunday night.
'We don't expect Asher to recover':Rutherford schools director provides update on son injured in Tennessee storms
Family will have private ceremony for Asher
Sullivan requested privacy as his family mourns.
"We will not have a visitation and will have a private ceremony only with immediate family and only the closest of friends," Sullivan wrote. "Please keep our family in your prayers as we navigate a world without the purest one of us in it."
Sullivan also posted a description of his son's life.
"Asher lived more of a life in ten years than most do during a full lifetime," he wrote, noting that his son had visited all 50 states, something the boy was proud of, as well as four countries. Asher also loved playing sports and was "the kindest/gentlest soul I've ever met, loved EVERYONE, and lived his life on GO at all times," his father wrote.
"Our nicknames for each other were 'Squirrel' and 'Papa Squirrel" because we always had to go, go, go and could not focus on one thing. He loved his brother and wanted to be just like him. He was obsessed with his mom and worshipped the ground she walks. His mom was his hero."
'Asher needs a miracle':Middle Tennessee prayer vigil sees 500+ after storm injures boy
Thousands show support for Asher and his family
Thousands have been following Sullivan's social media posts for regular updates on Asher, and the boy's story has gained national attention. Jimmy Sullivan is well known in Rutherford County. As director of schools, he oversees a district that served almost 52,000 children this school year.
Asher attended Christiana Elementary, one of the county's 50 schools.
Many from Asher's school were among the more than 500 people who attended a May 9 prayer vigil for him and his family in front of the Rutherford County Schools central office. Students, teachers, parents, younger children and public officials listened to prayers and sang, "Amazing Grace," as they stood on sidewalks, the parking lot, landscaped grassy areas and under shade trees.
Others have shown support for the boy by wearing more than 6,000 helmet stickers with an "A" for Asher on a star that's similar to the logo for Vanderbilt, one of the boy's favorite baseball teams. The stickers were donated by local businesswoman Jessica Hood, owner of JM Embroidery in the Rockvale community on Rutherford's southwest side.
Support for Asher:Helmet stickers for Tennessee storm-injured Asher Sullivan 'show love towards the family'
Another prayer vigil for Asher set Monday night
Another prayer vigil for Asher and his family is planned for 6:30 p.m. on Monday at Rockvale Elementary on the baseball field, Hood said. The event will include a moment of silence at 7 p.m. followed by a prayer.
Hood said she recently embroidered Asher's name along with several others on a collar of a Riverdale High School graduate. One of the names included was Yousuf Ayesh, an 11-year-old boy from Murfreesboro who died of incurable brain cancer on May 14 at Vanderbilt, very near to Asher Sullivan.
The graduate "wanted a tribute to the two children who recently passed away," Hood said.
"It shows how much people are emotionally affected."
Prayers for 2 boys:Tennessee community mourns Yousuf, prays for Asher after tornadoes
Reach reporter Scott Broden with news tips or questions by emailing him at sbroden@dnj.com. To support his work with The Daily News Journal, sign up for a digital subscription.
