RAY, N.D. -- The sanctuary inside Ray Lutheran Church was packed Tuesday morning as family, friends and a community gathered to bid farewell to a teenager who lost his life in a tragic accident last week.
“We’ll miss his smile, his wry sense of humor, and the fine young man he had become,” Pastor Steve Anderson said during the brief, simple service memorializing Justin Meckle’s life.
Meckle, 18, was swimming with friends when he went underwater at Kota-Ray Dam about 6:30 p.m. July 21. Emergency crews pulled him out about 30 minutes later, and he was pronounced dead at a nearby hospital.
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Meckle, a 2015 graduate of Ray High School in northwest North Dakota, was the fourth student from the school to die this year. A crash on U.S. Highway 2 in February claimed the lives of Tanner Garman, 18, and Waylyn McRae, 17, both of Ray, and Dalen Dorval, 17, of Epping. The three teens were members of the high school’s basketball team.
During Tuesday’s ceremony, Anderson referenced the multiple losses, acknowledging bitter sadness that “another set of parents, teachers, classmates, friends and neighbors would have to sit in the presence of death once again.”
“Let’s breathe, let’s just breathe for a moment. We can’t run from death,” Anderson said. “We realize that sometimes, there are no second chances…and we are left to pick up the pieces.”
The three boys’ deaths sparked a widespread show of support called PrayForRay, which included outpourings on social media and the wearing of lime green t-shirts with the three teens’ basketball numbers to basketball games across the region.
Meckle played football, was in the band and competed at the state level in speech and theater at the high school.
His entry in the school’s 2015 yearbook was shared with mourners at the church.
“All the people I know make my life so much better. They are like sprinkles on a cake. I am so blessed to have been a part of this wonderful thing called earth,” it read.
After Anderson read the entry to the congregation, he voiced a collective response from Meckle’s loved ones.
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“Right back at you, Justin. You are like sprinkles on our cake, too. And you made our time on earth so much better,” he said.
