In loving memory of Billy Harvey

There was one student that you could recognize walking down the street from his fade haircut to his feet. He had a notable box cut and an array of colorful shoes, and an outfit to match each one. Not only was he recognizable by his look but also in the way he carried himself, a bounce in his step as he walked. This student was known as Billy Harvey.

On March 28, 2022, Billy Harvey died along with his stepbrother Jeremiah Burton. While Billy may no longer be here, his memory lives on through the stories his friends share along with the impact he made with the people he interacted with. 

Friends of Billy’s shared fun memories that they had with him. 

“The funniest memory was when Billy threw up on me in 6th grade and started crying afterwards,” said Heaven McPherson, a friend of Billy’s.  Billy had been complaining his stomach was hurting.  After he became sick he could not stop apologizing for what he had done. McPherson moved to Canton in the 6th grade. Billy was one of her first friends and he would come and sit on McPherson’s porch and talk with her, and their bond grew ever since. 

Amaiya Stone, another one of Billy’s friends, shared about how Billy and his sister Jessica had a language that trickled down into the friend group. 

“It’s like sometimes we would be joking around and Jessica and Billy would just start scrunching their nose and it would all catch on. They had a special language between them. We called it Jessica and Billy Language,” Stone said. 

Billy’s friends also described him as a sneakerhead. Billy loved his shoes, some he would buy sets in multiple different colors and some to the point that he would leave them in the box. Billy and Jessica also had a tradition regarding their shoes. 

“Every year Billy and me got the same shoes.  I don’t know why, we just did,” Jessica said. 

Another item that Billy cherished was the popular snack, Cheez-its. He would often ask his friends to pick him up a box and was very serious about being the only one to eat them.

Today, Billy is still known for being a loveable teddy bear despite his intimidating appearance, and though he could be stubborn at times, he was still able to show his tough love to all of his friends. Many of his friends looked to him as a father figure and knew they could count on him for advice whenever they needed it. 

Billy was a hard worker as he worked at McDonald’s since he was 14 years old. He spent a lot of his time there and was close to becoming a manager when he passed away. 

Along with his leadership roles, Billy was extremely close with his step-brother, Jeremiah Burton. These two had a strong bond that was built over video games such as 2K and Fortnite as well as their ability to rap and harmonize with each other. 

“He [Jeremiah] was just like my brother right away. That was my right hand man. We went on missions together through the summer,” McPherson said. 

But just like brothers Jeremiah and Billy fought. Friends laughed as they remembered that Billy would blame Jeremiah on everything even if it wasn’t Jeremiah’s fault. However, the anger never lasted long.

Billy’s memories live on through his parents, Summer Wilder and William Harvey Sr.; sisters, Camryn, Jessica, JaTaesha, and Seraiha; brothers, Seijearr, Kaedn, and Saviare; grandparents, Phyllis Milini (Tony) and Vince Gatlin; and closest friends, Christopher Applin Naki Weir, Marcus Allen, Camar Graham, Marce Daniels, Amaiya Stone, Moses Johnson, Jharya Pullin, Kyanna Bonner, Heaven McPherson, Javron Daniels, Satorie Haley, Keenan Gulley, and Dallas Mayle. 

All of these people have been impacted by Billy in some way, and while he may not be here, he still lives on in their memory as the unique person that he was. 

“I swear, you will never meet another person like him,” Stone said.