Mom heartbroken, but grateful after accepting high school diploma for son who was shot and killed
CHICAGO (CBS) -- A mother walked the stage for her son and accepted his diploma after the young man was shot and killed earlier this year.
CBS 2's Shardaa Gray sat down Wednesday with the mom, Gabrielle Henley, who recalled the tragic night when her son died.
"He called me and said: 'Mom I've been shot. Hurry up, I think I'm dying,'" Henley said.
It was a call Henley never expected.
"I'm frantic. So I'm screaming, I'm like, 'Where are you?' And he says, 'I'm off of "Druh…,"' and that's all I heard," Henley said. "The phone call drops."
Henley said on Feb. 2, her son, 18-year-old Ronald Coppage Jr., was shot as he was walking home near 82nd Street and Drexel Avenue in the East Chatham neighborhood. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center, where he later died.
"I saw God's hand in all of this," Henley said. "Just the fact that he was able to call me when he got shot, for me, was amazing. Like, I got to hear his voice."
Holding a service for her son was the furthest thought from Henley's mind. But during the funeral, the dean of Sullivan House High School made a stunning announcement.
"Ronald completed his final three-and-a-half credit, and he is a high school graduate, class of 2022," the dean said at the memorial service. "I'm asking parents that either you yourself or send a representative to the graduation where you will receive his cap and gown and his diploma. Somebody give God praise."
Five months after the service, the commencement ceremony came around. Ronald "Noodle" Coppage Jr.'s sister and mother stood in his place to accept his diploma.
"It's strange, because I'm sad, because I feel like he should be here to walk for himself - but so grateful," said Henley.
Although her son is no longer here, with his having a child of his own, she still has a piece of him.
"That brings me so much joy," Henley said. "So when I'm having a bad day, I go get my baby."
Henley says since her son wanted to have a graduation vacation in Jamaica, that's where she plans to go in November to disperse his ashes on his birthday.
No one has been arrested in Coppage's murder.
