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1 0 HIDALGO COUNTY HERALD FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 13, 2015
Local sports legend Jessie Cole Darnell leaves behind legacy
mother, from hunting, sketching,
police work, underwater welding
and .education.
Darnell was all-district and
all-state in football and an over-
all extraordinary athlete. In 2006
he made a 54-yard field goal in
the New Mexico Class AA foot-
ball state championship game to
help LHS win its first and only
state title.
"I know privately he liked
praise but he was real shy and
embarrassed about it publicly.
Jessie had so many medals, tro-
phies and certificates, he wis an
accomplished athlete, but if you
were to go look for them, you
wouldn't find them in his room,"
Lisa Diaz said. "For a while he
had a few of them out, but he
would put them away. I had a stor-
age outside the house and that's
where all his stuff was at."
Lisa mentioned that Jessie
felt he would be bragging if he
displayed so many trophies. He
was always considerate of others,
not wanting to step on any ones
toes because some people didn't
receive trophies.
Darnell's son Jaiden, now
eight years old, was born, Nov. 3,
2006, and was the light of
Darnell's life. Lisa remembers a
time when Darnell painted his
own room in a "Finding Nemo"
theme, displaying not only his
fatherly love but his artistic skills
as well. "Keep in mind this is his
senior year, he is a 'super jock'
when he knew Jaiden was com-
ing along," Lisa said. "He painted
his room a sea blue with nothing
but the Finding Nemo characters.
Jessie had big hopes and dreams
for Jaiden which we all do, and I
still have the papers to show
Jaiden for when he is old enough."
Darnell was not simply an
athlete, his academics were also
above par, receiving letters from
Notre Dame and as a sophomore
Texas Tech wanted to recruit him
for baseball. Although, when
Darnell realized he had a child
on the way, he changed his entire
Story by AMAYA WORTHEM/
NMSU, for the Herald
LORDSBURG, N.M.-- At
the start of the summer of 2007
the air radiated off of the Dol-
phins jersey he wore. The sweat
from his body caused the shirt to
cling to him, but he didn't feel
the heat as his mind was miles
away. Crouching over the
gravel between the undevel-
oped field of Lordsburg N.M.
he paused, and reached for the
cellphone in his pocket dial-
ing 911. The conversation,
which was brief alerted au-
thorities of his plan and where
he was located. In his other
hand he held one of his son's
blankets.
Jessie Cole Darnell
passed, May 8, 2007, by a self-
inflicted gunshot wound, a
death that shocked the entire
Lordsburg community.
"He said he was at a foot-
ball field," said Lordsburg Po-
lice Chief John McDonald in
an article posted in the Silver
City Sun News. "He gave us
the wrong field and we started
searching other areas for him.
When we found him, he had al-
ready shot himself."
Born Sept. 4, 1988, Darnell
was born to be an athlete, a
scholar and a father. As a four-year
letterman in several sports and a
five-year letterman in baseball he
was no stranger to top of the line
athleticism and academics.
Raised in Animas and
Lordsburg, N.M. by Billy Darnell
and Lisa Diaz he grew up with
his sibling Jamie Diaz, and cous-
ins Michael Medina and Sabrina
Medina. Darnell's sister Jamie
mentioned the two were always
close with everyday phone calls
ending with an "I love you". The
family traveled across the state to
watch Darnell do what he did
best; everything.
"Jessie played sports since he
was little. Little league, soccer,
basketball and baseball," Jamie
[Diaz] said. "He was always very
good at every sport he played. His
favorite was whatever he was
playing at the time."
A very humble young man
with many interests, Darnell was
described as shy and not one to
bask in public praises. He was
constantly searching for ways to
improve himself on the field and
off the field.
"He carried a big load, his
home life was not a problem,
school was not a problem but he
was real hard on himself and he
was his worst critic," said
Darnell's mother Lisa Diaz. "I
filmed everything. I was there and
the minute we would get home
Jessie would sit down and watch
that film"
Darnell was an 18 year old
senior at Lordsburg High School
with a promising future. He had a
range of interests according to his
Photograph of ceramic tile mosaic from
the historic Hidalgo Hotel for sale
16"x 18"
printed on foam
core board --
can be framed
or displayed
without a frame.
Can be seen at
the Hidalgo
County Herald.
$20
Call Edmund Sauced0, 575 542-9716 or evs@aznex.net
/
I
I would like to extend my sincere
gratitude for the voters in the Lordsburg
Municipal School District for your
continued support and votes of
confidence. I promise to always work
towards the best interests of the
District, while always keeping the
needs of our students a priority.
Thank you again,
life for his son, and considered
going to Western New Mexico
University while simply teaching
around the Lordsburg area.
"I can't and don't deny what
happened. It is real," Lisa Diaz
said "One thing many do not re-
alize is suicide is real and it is
forever. It does not go away.
When a person makes that deci-
sion it is permanent. To this day I
live with 'What if I would have?'"
The family constantly
adorns Darnell's resting place for
every holiday and many other
times throughout the year. DJ
Saucedo, Jamie Diaz's boyfriend,
stated that it can be whenever
they are shopping and see some-
thing in the store, it is a way to
always keep Darnell around.
Saucedo has been a track and
field assistant since 1999 at
Lordsburg High School and took
charge as head basketball coach
for the Mavericks in 2009.
Jamie and DJ have two chil-
dren together, Raymond, 16, and
Ashley, 13, both heavily involved
in sports. Raymond plays basket-
ball, football, and track for
Lordsburg High School while
Ashley plays junior high volley-
ball, and has an interest in track
and cheerleading. Raymond
stated that his family and the com-
munity inspired him to play
sports.
"I knew Jessie pretty well,
and what I remember most about
him is that no matter what he was
doing when I would ask him to
do something he would put down
whatever he was doing and do it
for me," said Raymond Saucedo.
"As an athlete he taught me to win
no matter what it takes."
With the Darnell-Diaz fam-
ily and community continuing to
heal they set out to make sure that
nothing like this would ever hap-
pen again. Not in their family nor
their community. With the help
of 20 to 30 close friends and
around 15 monetary sponsors,
Saucedo and the group have dedi-
cated a memorial in Darnell's
name and play a basketball tour-
nament in his remembrance.
"Jessie passed in May, so
every Memorial Day weekend we
hold a 3-on-3 basketball tourna-
ment in his memory," Jamie Diaz
said. "All money raised is given
out in scholarships to graduating
athletes. We have given out
$15,000 in scholarships so far. It's
one of the biggest events in
Lordsburg. We get teams from all
over and play lots of basketball
in one weekend. Not only is it a
scholarship fundraiser .but a
chance to bring kids and the com-
munity together."
According to Jamie, the tour-
nament has consistently been
growing every year. In its first year
there were 30 teams and last year
there was a total of 80 teams.
Jamie stated that the tournament
is constantly getting bigger and
bigger and will continue to do so.
The tournament brings teams
from Silver City, Deming, Las
Cruces, Arizona and Texas with
teams starting at the age of five
years old.
Coach Saucedo states that he
constantly lets the players of his
high school team know that
he loves them and that he is
always here for them outside
coaching and the gym. Coach
Saucedo also stated "We teach
the players to call someone if
something is wrong. There's
always someone out there for
them. Even the smallest of
problems."
"Jessie obviously was
very good at hiding his prob-
lems, he kept everything in-
side, because he would have
been the last person on Earth
that we thought that would
happen with," Jamie Diaz said.
"From the outside he was
happy and always willing to
help, he was always friendly,
nobody ever saw it coming,
nobody."
The Jessie Darnell 3-on-
3 Basketball Tourney is held
over Memorial Day Weekend at
the Lordsburg High School Gym
in Lordsburg, N.M. The registra-
tion fee is $50 per team and
money is not due until the day of
the tournament. Roster and team
names are due by the 15 'h of May.
For more contact information on
the annual tournament follow the
event on Twitter, Instagram, and
Snapchat. Jamie Diaz and DJ
Saucedo are the contacts with the
information provided below.
@jd3ono (Instagram, Snapchat,
Twitter)
Phone: (575) 519-0474
Email: jd3on3 @gmail.com
Facebook Page Name: Jessie
Darnell 3on3 Basketball Tourney
d 22nd Annual Bootheel
Museum
Benefit
indraiser
Saturday, February
5:00 PM
14
Lordsburg Hidalgo County Museum
708 East 2nd Street* Lordsburg, NM
FEATURING:
Billy Chadborn--Composer/Singer
Rusty Tolley--Poet
Doe Jordan--Poet/Musician
Bill Cavaliere--Poet
Ken Moo re--Co m pose r / Sin ger
Mike Dunn--Poet
The Outriders--Western Music
Steve HilI--MC
1St S?,sion"5:00-6:30 PH
Free Hambu ge s & Soft Drinks at Interm.s.n
00oj:jJ, 2nd Session 7:00-8:30 PM 0000J:JJ
Donations
$12 Adult $8 Student
(Includes both sessions)
Tickets available at
Verla's Western Wear--980 E. Motel Drive
Gold Hill Outpost--1000 Birchfield
Or available at the door day of the event
For more information: 559-38 I- 1465
hookjune@hotmail, com
Hidalgo
USEUM
Open Mon-Fri 1:00-5:00 PM