Zachary Mason:
And the Music Lives On
Story by Carol Pappas
Photos by Michael Callahan
Submitted photos
On a cool, spring morning in April, offering only a slight hint of warmer weather ahead, hundreds of people gathered at Pell City Lakeside Park in memory of Zachary Mason.
The next day would have been his birthday. Music from loud speakers echoed throughout the park, a celebratory prelude to the Fourth Annual Chicken Head Run. Zack would have liked that. Music was his first love. Friends and family were his passion. “Chicken Head” is what he playfully called most everybody. It became his trademark.
And on this weekend each year, they come together to raise money for the Zachary Mason Memorial Fund, which provides music scholarships to deserving students at Pell City High School.
Zack would have liked that, too. He walked at graduation from Pell City High School to a standing ovation in 2012, a tribute to the accomplishment of their fellow classmate who was born with Down’s Syndrome.
The son of Randy Mason and Melinda Pierce, Zack had a knack for making friends – plenty of them. “Anybody who had any contact with him fell in love with him,” said Tanya Osborne, his eighth- and ninth-grade teacher, who came up with the idea for the run. “He was my gentle giant. He was the sweetest thing possible. He played with my kids. He has a special place in my heart, and I will never forget him.”
In August the year he died, she saw information on Facebook about a Down’s Syndrome run in Gadsden. She and others formed a team for Zack. They donned T-shirts with a “kissy face” picture of Zack and dubbed themselves, “Zack Attack.”
About 30 people ran in that race, and it was the catalyst for a run every year since in Pell City near his birthday. “He called everybody Chicken Head. It was the perfect name for the race,” Osborne said. Now in its fourth year, the Chicken Head Run attracts nearly 200 runners and has awarded thousands of dollars in scholarships.
It’s a way to remember Zack and to keep the music alive. His aunt and Randy’s sister, Cacky Berlin, comes each year from her home in Clyde, N.C. “This is his element,” she said as she motioned toward the crowd, the music and the runners. “He touched so many people in his short life. It’s unbelievable. It’ really great that this race can help other students. He would be so happy.”
Rhonda Purdy, Melinda’s best friend, echoed the sentiment. “The music lives on,” she said. “It’s a way to continue to share what Zack loved most – music.”
His mother, Melinda, called it “exciting” and a testament to Zack. “He touched so many lives.”
Rhonda’s son, Adam, was one of those whose life was particularly touched. When Zack died, “I was heading down a path I didn’t need to go down. He changed my life. He was my best friend and my little brother. It was so sad to lose someone so close to us, but he inspired every life he met. He touched more people than most of us will touch in our life,” he said.
“As tough as it is, it makes it all worthwhile to see all these people,” Adam said.
Stepfather Todd Pierce concurred, recounting stories of “how much he loved people. He would be in the middle of all of it. He loved everybody.”
Zack was especially close to his brother, Austin, who was running the time clock at the race. Photos of them together over the years reflect the bond the two shared.
Shelby Weaver, a student at Jacksonville State University, won a music scholarship from the memorial fund. “It helps me to know I have a community scholarship like I have. It’s support from home. Because Zack loved music like he did, it helps me continue what I’m doing.”
His father, Randy, is known for his civic leadership. You could always count on spotting Randy involved in countless worthy causes throughout the city. And you could always spot Zack right alongside him.
Randy made it a point to make sure Zack was involved, too – at Chamber of Commerce events, Civitans and at Pell City Center for Education and the Performing Arts, where Randy acts as stage manager for shows.
“Both Randy and Zack are such a blessing to our community,” said former executive director of the Chamber of Commerce Erica Grieve, as she distributed packets for runners. “It is great to be able to come together in memory of Zack.”
“He came to all the rehearsals,” said CEPA Artistic Director Kathy McCoy. “He sang with Steve Shafer in the Christmas production. He would sit in the audience, and he knew every song, every word, so we started putting him on stage. He was our real sweetie.”
Unlike most teens surrounded only by peers, Zack’s reach transcended age demographics. At his 18th birthday celebration, 70 to 80 adults showed up, his grandmother, Sara Bain recalled. Four singers donated their time to entertain. When the classic, “My Girl,” was performed, Zack knew all the words. Barely masking her surprise, she said. “I didn’t know he knew the moves!”
Zack spent a great deal of time with his grandparents, and music was usually at the center of it, Bain said. He had baskets of cassettes and CDs at their home, and in the last few months of his life he took particular interest in the Gaithers Homecoming music video, featuring Singing in My Soul. “He played it over and over. All of it ministered to him deeply and therefore to me, too, because I watched and listened through Zachary’s eyes, ears and heart.”
What reminds her most of her grandson is a saying that seems to fit perfectly. “Live Simply. Love Generously. Laugh Often. Live Freely. That was Zachary.”
