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Editor's Note: This story has been edited to reflect the correct dates.
Isaiah “Zay” Clark’s family is preparing to celebrate his 22nd birthday without him.
A light in the Van Noy, Smith and Parada families dimmed when Isaiah died in a single-car accident near his apartment complex in Dallas on March 18.
Yet, as the saying goes, gone is not forgotten.
Family and friends gathered Saturday, Sept. 7, at Locals Lounge to pack 100 birthday kits to donate to Metrocrest Services, the Ronald McDonald House, Irving Cares, the Cathedral of Hope Food Bank and Catholic Charities so no matter their financial circumstances, children can still have birthday parties. The kits include cake mixes, soda with which to make the cake, icing, candles and party hats.
On Sunday, Sept. 8, the family will gather with the community on the west side of the Joya Park playground to dedicate a park bench at 2:30 p.m. for Isaiah and have hot dogs, drinks and cupcakes together. They asked the community to join them by bringing a side to share.
“We wanted to do something for Isaiah’s first heavenly birthday in a way he would have enjoyed,” said his aunt, Theresa Van Noy Parada.
For his few years on Earth, Isaiah left a legacy that many older people would be hard pressed to fulfill.
“You had to be friends with Isaiah whether you wanted to or not,” said his mother, Vanessa Van Noy Smith. “He wanted to make sure everyone was included.”
His generosity was legendary, his family members agreed.
Isaiah was the child who wanted to feed everyone he saw who was homeless.
“’Mommy, can we get them a hamburger, too?’” Smith said was a frequent refrain from Isaiah when he was little.
When he became a young adult with his own income and vehicle, Smith said it wasn’t unusual for Isaiah to spend $30 for hamburgers on payday and take them to a homeless encampment near where he worked at Love Field.
“He’d buy a bunch of food and go and sit with them,” she said.
She worried about his safety, but Isaiah did not.
When there was a particularly bad cold spell a few years ago, Isaiah came home asking if he could take extra comforters, blankets and sleeping bags from the family’s home to give to people who are unhoused.
“’Because they’re going to be outside when it’s freezing,’” Smith quoted him. “He never knew a stranger. He just loved everybody … He never had a bad day.”
His sister, Rese Van Noy, said he was always broke because he gave so much of his pay away.
“He really had zero money to his name,” she said. He borrowed $40-$50 from her almost weekly and never paid her back.
“I think the last time we met up in person was when our mom wasn’t feeling well, and we were arguing as we were making food,” she said as her voice trailed off. “He was everything to everyone here.”
“He was like everybody’s friend at both of our schools,” said Cheyenne Harr, a close friend of the family.
Celebrating anything since Isaiah’s death has been difficult for the close-knit family and their friends.
Because twin sisters Vanessa and Theresa spent so much time together, they said their children were more like siblings than cousins.
His cousin Alex turned 22 on Thursday, Sept. 5. His cousin Andrew turned 20 two weeks prior.
Vanessa said Alex’s birthday wasn’t going to be easy on him.
Theresa said she had just come home from the hospital after giving birth to Alex when Vanessa went in to have Isaiah.
“It’s going to be his first birthday without Isaiah,” she said. “They were always a package deal. Isaiah’s always been the ringleader.”
They said Isaiah’s half-brother Cisco also has struggled without Isaiah.
But because Isaiah’s favorite holiday was birthdays, his aunt Theresa and the family thought celebrating his birthday in a big way was appropriate.
He was “notorious” for going to Chuck E. Cheese and sitting at the party table.
“He would walk back to us with a cupcake or a slice of cake,” she said. “He especially liked other people’s birthdays.”
He’d already planned his birthday this year with a party on a friend’s porch, which the family also planned to follow through with.
They went through a Farmers Branch Parks and Recreation program to dedicate a bench for Isaiah near the trail west of the Joya Park playground.
“It’s a place for everyone to go, and before it was Joya Park, it was the dinosaur park, and Isaiah loved that place,” Rese said.
Isaiah attended school at the U.S. Aviation Academy and was waiting for the next opportunity to test to finish his certification to become an aircraft mechanic. As he waited for his apprenticeship at Southwest Airlines Co., he worked as a ramp agent for Southwest.
He died instantly in the accident, when his car left the road when he fell asleep.
“I’m just glad he wasn’t scared,” Rese said. “Because for his front, he didn’t like being alone, and he got scared easily.”
Described as loud, funny, always telling jokes, Isaiah’s mother said he never had a bad day.
“He just lived his best life every day. He lived with no regrets.”
