Strangers Help Valedictorian Teen After Unexpected Tragedy

Dellarontay Readus stands with his mother, Lynn, who passed away this week. Strangers around the country donated more than $29,000 to pay for Lynn’s funeral. (Photo: Go Fund Me)

One month before high school senior Dellarontay Readus was to embark on the most exciting time of his life — the Memphis native was headed to Stanford University on a full scholarship— he received tragic news: His mother, Lynn, 49, died suddenly on Sunday from heart and stomach problems.

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Unable to pay the $4,000 for her funeral, Dellarontay, 18, withdrew his entire college savings — $2,000 that he earned through an internship — and on Tuesday, his brother Geno Douglas established a Go Fund Me page to cover the remaining $2,000. Donations flooded in, and by Friday the family had received more than $28,000. “Before Go Fund Me, we were frantic because we couldn’t even afford cremation, the cheapest option, and my sister tried to take out a loan,” Dellarontay tells Yahoo Parenting. “All these donations show how much my mom was respected and loved. She’ll be remembered.”

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For Dellarontay, who graduated with a 4.0 GPA and was valedictorian of his class, college life just won’t be the same without his mom. “She knew I got into Stanford before she died, and I know she’s still proud of me,” he says.

Dellarontay’s success is remarkable — he grew up with six siblings in crime-filled neighborhoods and moved around the country 21 times (“I went to three different high schools and middle schools, and I don’t remember elementary school”) because of his mom’s unemployment status stemming from her health issues, which included congenital blindness. So Dellarontay took the bus after school to his jobs as a tutor and at a pizza call center. The family didn’t have Internet access, so Dellarontay did his homework at school and occasionally used his neighbor’s Wi-Fi connection with permission. When it came time to apply for college, he opted for schools that didn’t require application fees — and Stanford. “That’s where I wanted to go,” he says.

At first, Dellarontay didn’t expect much from his fundraising efforts. “That first day was pretty bleak,” he admits. “But people kept wanting to help. I read every comment left on the page, and it was a huge outpouring of emotion.”

With the amount far surpassing the initial $2,000 goal, Dellarontay and his brother initially closed the crowdfunding page. “I don’t need the money because I’ve survived with so much less,” he says. “I also didn’t want to misguide people by keeping it open especially because my mother’s name is on the page.” However, the donations wouldn’t stop, so the family reopened the page with a new title, “Thank You for Your Support.” Excess funds will be directed into a college expense account for Dellarontay, which includes a bike to get around Stanford’s 8,000-acre campus and school supplies.

In September, he’ll head to college to study computer science, but first, the family is planning Lynn’s funeral. And Dellarontay intends to commemorate his supporters with a special inscription on his mother’s tombstone: “Loved by Many.”

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