It was a somber moment for one family from Michigan during a recent high school graduation ceremony in which the father accepted his late teen son’s diploma.
Donald Perry Jr., from Saginaw, was only 17 years old when he was killed in a tragic road accident in November 2020. At the time of his demise, he was a senior student at Saginaw High School.
During the commencement ceremony at Saginaw High on June 3, his father, Donald Perry Sr., received the diploma on on his behalf.
![(Courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/donald.d.perry.1">Donald Perry Sr.</a>)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F06%2F09%2FDonald_3.jpeg&w=1200&q=75)
“It was such an honor and privilege to be able to walk in my son’s footsteps and also emotional but I knew he was looking down on me and guiding me through each step I took,” Donald Sr. told The Epoch Times via Facebook Messenger. “[He] gave me the strength to keep it together and hold back the tears that were wailing inside of me trying their hardest to get out.”
Donald Jr. had earned a nickname from his friends at school long before his passing.
![(Courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/donald.d.perry.1">Donald Perry Sr.</a>)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F06%2F12%2FDonald-Perry-Jr.-1.jpeg&w=1200&q=75)
“They called him Mr. Perfect because a lot of them really admired him because he was a humble person really and he had a great smile on his face all the time,” LaTosha, Donald Jr.’s mother, said.
![(Courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/donald.d.perry.1">Donald Perry Sr.</a>)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F06%2F12%2FDonald-Perry-Sr.jpeg&w=1200&q=75)
![(Courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/donald.d.perry.1">Donald Perry Sr.</a>)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F06%2F09%2FDonald_4.jpeg&w=1200&q=75)
After the graduation ceremony, the Perry family and friends gathered around Forest Lawn Cemetery in his memory and released balloons in the air.
“It’s a bitter but sweet thing, I hate that he’s not able to be here,” said Donald Sr.
He added that, during his high school days, Donald Jr. had a dream of attending college to study electrical engineering as a major and real estate as a minor.
![(Courtesy of <a href="https://www.facebook.com/donald.d.perry.1">Donald Perry Sr.</a>)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimg.theepochtimes.com%2Fassets%2Fuploads%2F2021%2F06%2F09%2FDonald_1.jpeg&w=1200&q=75)
The Perry family noted that Donald Jr. had a promising future and that his graduation could have marked a major milestone in his life.