Oregon works to honor Doxey as season opens
EUGENE, Ore. — A year ago, after she helped him move into his dorm at Oregon, Todd Doxey took his grandmother, Gladys, to Autzen Stadium and fantasized about his first game as a Duck.
“We stood there on that empty field,” Gladys said, “and he pointed at the tunnel. He talked about how exciting it was going to be to storm into that stadium in front of all those fans.
“I told him – I promised him – that I would be here to see it.”
Gladys looked away. Her voice began to tremble.
“Today,” she said, “was supposed to be that day.”
One year later, true to her word, Gladys made the trip from San Diego to Eugene for last Saturday’s season-opener against Washington. But a few hours before kickoff, she and Doxey’s closest relatives and friends were nowhere near Autzen Stadium. Instead, 13 miles away, they gathered on a bank of the McKenzie River. Kneeling one by one, they dipped their hands into the cold water and gazed at the bridge 40 feet above.
“We needed to see it for ourselves,” said JayDee Luster, Doxey’s best friend. “We needed to see where Todd took his final breaths.
“We needed to see where he died.”
rivals.com
9/2/08
