Family and friends remember Ja’Darrius “Scrappy” Wilkinson, 10, as a child who played outside from the time he got out of bed until the time he went to sleep.
“It didn’t matter how hot it was outside, he wanted to play,” his grandmother, Irene Wells said. “He only came in to eat, bathe and sleep.”
Ja’Darrius started third grade at Otken Elementary School on Wednesday. By 10:45 that night, he was dead, killed by a single gunshot wound at his home. His cousin, 22-year-old Willie J. Wilkinson, has been charged in the case.
Wells’ family and friends sat outside Friday afternoon, just barely out of the heat of the day, remembering Ja’Darrius, or “Scrappy” as he was most commonly known.
Ja’Darrius got his nickname when he was younger, Wells said.
“He loved to fight,” she said. “He would go up to people and try to box.”
Ja’Darrius’ kindergarten teacher Amy Alldredge laughed when she spoke about the first time meeting him.
“I put my hand out and asked his name and he said, ‘My name’s Scrappy.’ I told him we couldn’t call him that at school, but by the end of the year we all called him Scrappy,” she said. “He earned his nickname.”
Everyone in the Baertown community knew Ja’Darrius, his grandmother said.
Ja’Darrius’ uncle, Cedric Tobias, or “Uncle Ced” as Ja’Darrius called him, said that when the family moved to the neighborhood on McComb Street, they didn’t know anyone, but it was a matter of days before that changed.
“When we first moved here, nobody knew him. In two days, everybody around here knew him,” Tobias said. “He would just go up to people and say ‘My name’s Scrappy, what’s your name?’ ”
Wells said one of Ja’Darrius’ favorite things to do was play football.
“He told me the day before he died, ‘Ma, I’m going to be the next Drew Brees,’” she said. “He loved the Saints.”
Tobias said Ja’Darrius was always looking for someone to throw the football or play basketball with.
“He worried me to death about playing ball with him or walking him to the store,” he said. “That’s how he made friends though. He would just stop people and ask if they would play football with him and usually people did.”
Jessica Smith, Ja’Darrius’ neighbor said whenever she heard a “clink, clink, clink” noise, she knew Ja’Darrius was coming to see her.
“He rode his pogo stick from his house to mine,” she said and smiled. “I could always hear him coming. I’ll never forget the sound that thing made.”
Smith said Ja’Darrius would see her outside and come sit next to her and talk.
“I’m going to miss him sitting outside with me,” she said.
Tobias said on Wednesday, the first day of school, Ja’Darrius was excited to get back to Otken and see his friends.
“He hadn’t seen them all summer because they lived in White Acres and we live here,” he said.
Tobias said a lady in the neighborhood gave Ja’Darrius a new pair of shoes to start school in.
Ja’Darrius went to his first day of third-grade at Otken Elementary School. He was ready to go, getting up early that morning so he had time to show his new shoes off.
Alldredge became emotional while remembering Ja’Darrius.
“I’ve been so upset about this,” she said. “He always had a funny story, every day.”
Alldredge said Ja’Darrius would come to school each day with a play-by-play recap of what happened at his house the previous night.
“He was hilarious,” she said. “He was full of life.”
Alldredge said she understood why Ja’Darrius’ neighbor gave him school shoes.
“You wanted to do for him because he was so appreciative,” she said. “He was so eager to learn.”
Wells said even though Ja’Darrius was her grandchild, he always tried to take care of her.
“Anytime he went to the store, he would ask if I needed something,” she said. “It didn’t matter how many trips he made, he always brought me something back. He took care of me.”
Caring for others was a major part of Ja’Darrius’ personality, Wells said.
“Our neighbor has three piles of leaves over at her house and she said nobody can touch them because Scrappy raked them for her,” she said. “He loved to help people.”
As Wells spoke about her grandson, she looked across the street where a man was weed-eating the edge of the road.
“If Scrappy were here, he would have already been over there asking that man if he could help,” she said and grinned. “That’s just the kind of person he was.”
Alldredge remembers Ja’Darrius coming to class with his snack, eager to share with his classmates who didn’t have one.
“He had a kind little heart,” she said.
His cousins sat outside with Wells and they all had a story to tell about Ja’Darrius.
Wells laughed at some of their memories, particularly one about Ja’Darrius giving away bottles of water one hot afternoon.
“He came outside and gave everyone there a water bottle,” she said. “I’m going to miss my baby.”
