Students Plan Memorial for Siblings Who Drowned

JOLIET, IL — The tragic death of two children on Memorial Day in Wilmington has affected the community deeply, and two students at Gompers Junior High School want to show how much Abigail and Eder Arroyo meant to classmates, friends and teachers.

Anthony Garcia and Mckenzie Loehr wanted to do something after they heard the tragic news. They began by creating a Facebook page for a memorial event at Gompers.

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“We just had an idea and (Anthony) wanted me to make a page on Facebook and invite my friends and everything,” Mckenzie said, who was friends with both Abigail and Eder and described them as being nice and smart.

Mckenzie said she hopes the event will let the family know that everyone loved Abigail and Eder, not just their family.

Helping with the event is Mckenzie’s mom, Melissa Loehr, but said the kids have mostly done it on their own.

“We’re just trying to help them get it all together,” Loehr said. “Stuff that they don’t really know how to do.”

Loehr said she was very proud of the kids when she heard they wanted to do something.

“For the kids to experience a loss like this, it’s not something many kids go through,” she said.

According to Loehr, the Gompers Junior High School choir will perform at the memorial, which will take place from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Friday, June 10 at the school, located at 1501 Copperfield Ave. in Joliet.

Loehr said balloons will be available for purchase and the proceeds will be donated to the family.

The Arroyo family is scheduled to be in attendance.

“They wanted the family to realize it wasn’t just family that loved those kids, it was their friends and people from school and their teachers,” Loehr said.