By Kathi Stearns

Sister Joan Connell, IHM, forgot to pray for Kevin and Avery Pennant once during the daily morning intentions at Sts. Peter and Paul School.

Before she could turn the public address system off, a child appeared at her door and asked, "Did you forget to pray for Kevin and Avery?" The principal, recognizing her omission, smiled at the young man and confessed, "Yes, but I prayed for them in my heart." The student smiled and said, "So did I" and quietly returned to class.

Forgetting about the Pennant brothers is not something that the community of Sts. Peter and Paul in Decatur intends to do. Instead they have chosen to remember and pray for Kevin Pennant, a former seventh-grader, and his brother Avery Pennant, a Sts. Peter and Paul graduate. They were the only children of Beverly and Eglon Pennant and died within nine months of each other, one of illness, the other a victim of violence.

On Thursday, Nov. 18 at 2 p.m. the Home and School Association, students, faculty and parents of Sts. Peter and Paul will make sure that Kevin and Avery Pennant become a permanent part of the school's history. A playground containing four basketball goals, pavement games and a playscape will be dedicated in memory of the Pennant brothers. The Home and School Association will spend over $7,000 by the time the project is complete.

Fighting back tears, students and faculty explained how these young men touched their lives. Kevin's sixth-grade teacher, Pam Gibson, explained that his death has affected everyone differently.

"The kids have dealt with this better than I at times. I feel like I've lost my own son," she said. "We depend on each other to help us through this tragedy."

Group counseling was established and continues to help students and teachers deal with their feelings of loss. "We try to be real human about everything and recognize that each of us is going to have good days and bad days as we work through this," Ms. Gibson said.

"We are all dealing with this differently. Sometimes when I think of Kevin I start remembering what a joker he was and I start to laugh. Then the reality hits me that he's gone, and I have to hold back my tears," seventh-grader Ayana King said.

Jameel Allen tearfully explained the personal pain he has endured since Kevin's death. "It feels like a part of me is missing, like something is gone from my heart." Jameel transferred to Sts. Peter and Paul in the sixth grade and said that Kevin helped him adjust to the new school.

"When I close my eyes, I dream about the fun we used to have together. Those days are gone. I think about him every day. He was an incredible basketball player, and he loved Jamaican music. No one understands how much I miss him. I wish he could come back, but I know he can't," Jameel said.

Kevin died in August 1993 from an aneurysm which was symptomatic of a growth spurt. "I asked his aunt to repeat it (the news of his death) to me at least five times. I though she was talking about his brother Avery, who had died in December. We're all devastated that we have lost another student and that this family would have to deal with another tragedy," Sister Connell explained.

Pastor Father Richard Wise said that in Avery he saw a strong individual who had a sense of his own personhood. As an eight-grader Avery was the most valuable player on the Sts. Peter and Paul basketball team. On his way home from watching a basketball game he and some friends stopped at a video arcade Great Games. According to his mother, an angry 16-year-old boy shot Avery, who died Dec. 12, 1992 at DeKalb General Hospital. The young man was sentenced to life in prison after a five-day trial.

Father Wise noted that continuity is important to the parish and school at Sts. Peter and Paul. "Students don't simply come here and leave. Each student is a vital link in the history of our school. The playground is one way we can remind people of the unique persons Kevin and Avery were and keep their memory alive," he explained.

Mrs. Pennant, who volunteers in the library, said that she has been overwhelmed by the concern exhibited by the community. "I have been very touched by the sense of family that exists here. We have received so much love and support from the parish. I can't imagine life without it," she said.

Seventh-graders look at Mrs. Pennant in awe and admiration. "I don't know how she does it. If both my sons died, I'd run away and try to hide. I wouldn't know how to handle it," Maxwell Frazier said. "We've tried to kind of adopt her as our Mom. I know it's not the same, but we love her more than she'll ever know."