UPPER TOWNSHIP — Officials this week honored and remembered Easton Beisler a year after his death at the age of 9 while heading to a youth football game.
A fourth grader at Upper Township Primary School who played with the Upper Township Indians as No. 23, his death in a traffic accident last year shocked the local community.
On Monday, the Township Committee declared Sept. 23 Easton Beisler Day in the township.
“Easton Beisler was a beloved member of the Township of Upper community, whose life, character and love for family, friends and athletics left a lasting impact on all who know him,” a resolution approved in his honor states.
Katie Sementa, a friend of the Beisler family, spoke at the committee meeting, saying the outpouring of love and support from the township helped the family through unimaginable heartache.
“His passing shook our entire community to the core,” Sementa said. “The loss was not just felt by his family but by his friends, his classmates, teachers, neighbors and so many others and so many others who’s lives he touched with his bright spirit and kind heart.”
She spoke of the happiness that Beisler brought to those around him.
For Upper Township peewee football coach Bill Bernhardt, Sunday’s game against Lower Township was the toughest he’s ever coached as it marked the team’s first since his player, Easton Beisler, was killed in a car accident.
“While his time here was far too brief, his impact on the community will be everlasting,” she said.
Beisler was in the back seat of an SUV driven by his mother when she made a left turn into the Joseph E. Romano Sports Complex in Vineland. A 2019 Honda CBR 1000 motorcycle operated by Addiel A. Ortiz, 31, struck the side of the car on Maple Avene, police said at the time.
Ortiz, a corrections officer from Millville and a football coach, was pronounced dead at the scene, as was Easton.
Sementa said she practiced what she would say to the Township Committee and managed to get through it without crying, but choked up at the meeting. She said she would deliver a copy of the resolution to the Beisler family.
Committee member Victor Nappen II spoke about planned improvements at Amanda’s Field in Beisler’s honor, to include Easton Alley, with plans for a walkway and scholarship to include his number 23.
Members of the township’s youth sports organizations are working with the Beisler family on the effort, Nappen said. He referred people to the Facebook group Easton Alley – at Amanda’s Field – Upper Township Baseball for more information.
Contact Bill Barlow:
609-272-7290
bbarlow@pressofac.com
X @jerseynews_bill
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