Cheshire Class of 2015 Honors Brendan McQuade During Graduation

Editor’s note: In case you missed it from earlier this week. This story was originally published June 18.

The Cheshire High School Class of 2015 graduated on Thursday and made sure to never forget classmate Brendan McQuade, who died at the age of 13 just before entering eighth grade.

While 389 students graduated during Thursday’s ceremony, the school district presented McQuade’s parents with an honorary diploma for their son, according to the Meriden Record-Journal.

McQuade died from a stroke and heart surgery complications, according to the Record-Journal.

During the course of the school year, senior Jill Durso worked to ensure that McQuade’s memory lives on by establishing a scholarship in his honor as part of her senior experience project.

Durso set a goal of raising $5,000 for the project but the GoFundMe page she launched last October has raised $11,500. You can visit the page here.

Read more about Cheshire’s graduation at the Meriden Record-Journal here.