Published: April 06, 2009 03:16 pm      

Benefit held Saturday to mark little boy's grave

CLINTON — He was an 11-year-old boy who loved animals, poetry and art.

But Brandon Spears’ life was cut short one year ago today when he died in a house fire at his Tampico, Ill., home.

On the one-year anniversary of his death, family and friends this weekend held a benefit at Clinton’s Eagle Club in the hopes of collecting enough money to purchase a gravemarker for the boy.

The fire broke out late in the evening of April 5, 2008, in the family’s rural Tampico home. Brandon was asleep in his bedroom at the back of the house. His mother Nickole, who is originally from Clinton, was sleeping on the couch with her other son, Kevin, now 6.

Brandon’s father, Jason, was working at the Tyson plant in Joslin, Ill., and not home as the family slept.

Nickole said she and Kevin had fallen asleep on the couch while watching TV in the living room. She had sent Brandon to bed because he had not been feeling well.

She said she woke up around midnight.

“The TV was off and the lights were out and I saw a glow coming from my room,” she said.

It turned out that an electrical fire had broken out in the couple’s bedroom. Kevin and Nickole made it out of the home. Brandon did not. He was pronounced dead at the scene at 4 a.m. the next morning.

He was buried in Tampcio in a grave near his great-great-great-grandfather, Jason said. The family has picked out a gravemarker and needs to raise $3,300 to cover its cost.

The house was destroyed and the couple and Kevin now live in Sterling, Ill. With the many family members Nickole has in Clinton — she is the daughter of Cynthia Edwards and Michael Edwards and her brother, Michael, owns a tattooing business in town — it was decided to have a benefit here.

There was a silent auction, raffles, a bake sale and numerous vendors on hand Saturday to raise money throughout the afternoon.

Anyone wishing to donate to the fund can send donations to the Brandon Spears Memorial Fund at Advantage One Credit Union, P.O. Box 151, Morrison, Ill., 61270.