"You'll know that Superman is there ..."
PAYSON, ILL. -- Hundreds, if not thousands, of people attended a celebration at the Ambiance in Quincy Sunday evening.
It was a night to remember 2-year-old Easton Zanger, known to the Payson and Quincy communities as Super E-man.
Easton died last Saturday at St. Louis Children's Hospital after a year and a half struggle with a disorder that caused lengthy and harmful seizures.
But Sunday night, family and friends said you could feel his presence.
"This is everything that I wanted. I couldn't do the lines or the black clothes, and he's a baby and I wanted it to be something he'd be here for and he is here. I mean, look around, this is incredible.It's everybody that we know and love and everybody that we don't know. He's brought so many people together and I'm so proud of him, being a baby and having this much impact on this many people. It's incredible," Shannon Zanger, Easton's mother said.
Memories of his life wrapped around the room as hugs wrapped around his family.
"We have cried a lot the last 18 months and decided with this celebration, we wanted to kind of flip that a little bit. And we're not done crying, but today, we wanted to look more at celebrating Easton's life and celebrate the great things we've seen from our community," Jeff Zanger, Easton's father said.
From family photos to the yellow, blue and red balloons, Easton's memory lifted the spirits of hundreds of people Sunday night. It was a celebration fit for their Super E-man.
"It's what the community has envisioned him as, as the Superman for the community, the little boy that has enormous strength to overcome some of the things he had to overcome," Brad Page, Easton's Uncle said.
"He was loved by so many and brought so many people together and even in his death, people are still coming out to show their support. I think he's made people realize what it's like to help and be a part of a big, huge family. That's what he's done," Kendra Steffen, a family friend said.
He was a little boy with super powers, who left a powerful mark on this community without even knowing it.
"He taught people to cherish every second and to love their kids a little more and hold them tighter and read them more books. And even if that happened for one person, that would have been worth all this, because that's not a small thing," Shannon Zanger said.
Friends and family attended a private prayer service Saturday night. Shannon Zanger says she learned one of the greatest lessons from Easton ... letting people know they matter.
TV Station Profiles & Public Inspection Files forKHQA