Family & friends remember the life of Sweetwater teen who was fatally shot

While the circumstances of his passing are still under investigation, Lara’s family is choosing to remember the joy he brought into their lives, even if his own was cut short.

“He was just one to talk to. He always had something to say in. He was always a bright character…Whenever he first met my mom, he could not stop hugging her,” said one of Lara’s lifelong friends who wished not to be identified.

Braxton Morriss, with whom Lara briefly lived, says they were closer than friends. “To me and my brother, he was like another brother. We were really close. You could be really sad, and he’d always cheer you up. Not one bad memory with him.”

Another of Lara’s close friends, Braden Haley, spoke about Lara’s dependable nature and the joy he took in gift-giving and acts of service, saying, “If you needed something done, he would ask if you wanted him to do it for you.”

Lara’s mother, Evonne Loudermilk, says her son was a joy to know. She says his sense of humor and passion for those he cared about defined him as a person.

“He loved making people laugh, that was his way of helping people get through stuff,” Loudermilk said.

On Sunday, April 13, Lara was traveling with his girlfriend and her uncle, Loudermilk says she was told they were going skeet shooting, but she later found out it was false. Sometime after 8 p.m., she received a call from her girlfriend, informing her that something had happened, but not that her son had passed on.

“I had messaged and talked to him all day long, saying the same thing, ‘I love you and I’m ready to see you.’ Those are his last messages that I have from him. I don’t know what happened; I know he didn’t answer the phone at 8 o’clock, and I know why,” said Loudermilk.

After the service on Saturday, balloons were released in memory of Lara, symbolizing the act of letting go of someone they wish they could still keep near.

“It hurt because that’s the last time that I’d be able to… I mean, I sent him off with balloons, but it was taking him up where he needed to be,” Loudermilk said.

“I just hope that he knows we all love him and that we’ll miss him,” added Haley.

To all who hear of her son’s passing or those who are also in mourning, Loudermilk says the best way to help the family right now is to continue to remember her son for the person he was—remembering every smile, hug, and gift that he gave to those he loved and those who loved him back.