Friends, students release balloons in honor of freshman that died from SR-60 accident

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Jessica Johnston

A circle of people gathered at Putnam Hill Park release their balloons into the wind in remembrance of Ryan Tullius.

By Jessica Johnston, Assistant News Director

Many friends, classmates and family members gathered at Putnam Hill Park after school Tuesday afternoon to release balloons in remembrance of Ryan Tullius.

“Ryan would be touched,” Kathy Tullius, Ryan Tullius’ mother, said.

Ryan Tullius, a freshman at Zanesville High School, died early Monday morning after suffering serious injuries when he was involved in a rollover accident on SR-60 on Saturday, April 6.

“His brothers had brought goats home and he was renowned for making goat noises, and that’s what he was doing when he died. He was making goat noises,” Kathy Tullius said.

A ring of people that knew and loved the teen circled the grassy area in the middle of Putnam Hill Park as Kathy Tullius thanked everyone for their support before she sent the first balloons into the wind. A circle of balloons quickly followed into the sky.

“They called him Finesse Kid, that was his nickname, and he always had a way of finessing what he wanted,” Kathy Tullius said of her son Ryan Tullius, who was the youngest of six children.

She repeatedly thanked the community for all of its love in support over the past week and a half since the accident.

“I think the last he remembers is that wreck and he died happy and I’m touched that … the last thing he remembered was being with his friends and he was happy,” Kathy Tullius said. “And that’s what he would’ve wanted out of life. He always wanted to be with his friends and he always was just a happy kid.”

Calling hours are from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday, April 18 at Bryan and Hardwick Funeral Home. A funeral service will be held on Friday, April 19, also at Bryan and Hardwick Funeral Home.

All memorial contributions can be made on GoFundMe for Ryan Tullius Benefit (Finesse Kid).