Gautier football player honored in community vigil. ‘He will be remembered here’
A teenager who loved dancing, food and his community. A football athlete with a big heart, great attitude and a big smile.
That’s how Shermarion Miner, 15, a Gautier High School student and football player, was remembered by his family, friends, teammates and community during a vigil at Vaughn-Wallace stadium at Gautier High School on Thursday night.
“Shermarion was beloved,” said Gautier mayor Casey Vaughan in a statement read aloud at the vigil, “he loved the city of Gautier and our community is deeply saddened by his loss.”
Miner was lifting weights during a routine football workout in the high school field house just before classes ended Jan. 9 when he collapsed and later died, according to a statement from the Pascagoula-Gautier School District. According to Jackson County Coroner Bruce Lynd Jr., Miner had suffered a pulmonary embolism.
Dozens of family members, friends, and teammates from the Gautier Gators team gathered at the vigil to remember Miner. His friends from the Gators’ offensive line lit candles before memories they wrote of their friend were read aloud by faculty members.
“He didn’t just pop and lock. He dropped, he roboted. He brought the house down,” read one of the memories, referring to Miner’s dance moves. “We’d all be standing there laughing until we couldn’t breathe, watching him do his thing like only he could do. He moved like nobody else. Shermarion didn’t hold back.”
Other memories talked about his personality, his ability to rock a suit, and his nicknames: Big Creamy, for his love of snack cakes, and Major.
“He wasn’t Miner to us at all. He was Major because everything about him was big, his heart, his laugh, his appetite for life, his spirit.”
According to Pascagoula-Gautier School District Communications Director Mikayla Burns, many of Miner’s teammates and coaches were working out alongside him when he collapsed. They were the first to administer CPR to Miner.
Miner’s death comes after the highs of the 2024 football season. The Gautier Gators football team made its first-ever appearance in the state championship game, had 11 consecutive wins and won a South State title.
“His awesome smile, his unbelievable attitude, the type of teammate he was, what he brought to this school, to that field house, to this field. Shermarion was a great example of the pillars of the Gautier football program,” said Gautier football coach Marc High during the vigil.
Coach High announced during the vigil that an award traditionally given to a junior varsity lineman will now be called the Shermarion Miner JV Offensive Lineman Award in his honor. The team will also enshrine Miner’s locker and wear helmet stickers with his initials.
“I can promise you one thing: He will be remembered here,” High said.
Miner’s love for Gautier will be honored in one other way. In Memory Casket Wraps will wrap Miner’s casket with Miner’s football photo and Gautier colors.
The funeral service for Shermarion will be held on Sunday at 2 p.m. at Healer Nation Healing Center, 7417 Martin Bluff Road, Gautier.
This story was originally published January 17, 2025 at 10:17 AM.
