Anguished mom wants seat saved for son at graduation

JOPLIN, Mo. — A woman whose son was killed almost five years ago in a monster tornado that struck southwest Missouri wants an empty chair saved for him at what would have been his high school graduation.

Officials at Joplin High School and the school district rejected the request, saying it doesn't comply with their policy. Now Tammy Niederhelman hopes to put pressure on Joplin School District officials through an online petition.

"I'll never see my son graduate. I know that. I'll never see him get married. I'll never hold my grandchildren," Niederhelman said. "This is very important to me — to have a seat for him."

Zachary Zachary Allen Williams was 12 and hadn't finished middle school when he died May 22, 2011, as he huddled in a bathroom of the Niederhelmans' house; 160 other people died that same day.

Tornado blows woman into ex-husband's arms and home

"No parent should ever have to beg, plead, and fight for their deceased student to be honored with their own seat at graduation and for their name to be called," Niederhelman wrote in her Change.org petition, which more than 4,500 people had signed as of Friday. "Zach will not sit in the seat as he should have but he was, is, and always will be a Joplin Eagle Class of 2016."

Joplin school officials told her they plan to mark the five-year anniversary of the storm during the graduation ceremony and remember all of those who were killed. Niederhelman said Zach was the only one of the victims who would have graduated this year.

On the Sunday evening of the tornado, Niederhelman was working the night shift at Freeman Hospital West in Joplin. As storm sirens wailed, Zach spoke with his mother by phone one last time.

"He said, 'Mommy, I'm so scared,' " she said in the days after the storm. "I told him I loved him and that everything would be fine."

Instead, the house was destroyed. Zach's mom, her husband and dozens of volunteers searched for the boy. His body was identified days later.

Andrew Williams, Zach's older brother, said he is baffled that his alma mater has not honored his mother's request.

"They should at least do something," he said. Williams is now 21 and a member of the U.S. Marine Corps stationed in North Carolina's Camp Lejeune. His unit is expected to deploy soon.

Niederhelman and her husband also have adopted two girls, ages 2 and 7, since the tragedy.

Joplin debuts new schools destroyed in tornado

"No one could take away the pain, the mourning. I'll always miss Zach," she said. "They help fill the emptiness."

Joplin High Principal Kerry Sachetta offered to put a plant on the school stage to honor her son, but Niederhelman said she considers that gesture an insult. She wants a chair, which would cost nothing, and a graduation cap and gown on it to commemorate what could have been.

"Our current and longstanding practice is to recognize students who pass away at any point while attending Joplin High School by announcing their names and holding a moment of silence to honor them during the graduation ceremony," Sachetta wrote in a post on the high school website. "We have recognized 10 high school students in this manner over the last several years."

Joplin Superintendent Norm Ridder said the decision was made at the high school and "students helped with that decision."

In a lengthy post on the high school website, Sachetta said the district plans to mark the five-year anniversary of the tornado at graduation with a moment of silence and displaying names of Joplin students and staff who were killed.

"Our hearts and thoughts are with this family and all of those throughout our district who have lost a child," he wrote. "There is not a more difficult event to imagine."

Sachetta wrote that he sought feedback from current students and staff and they supported including Zach in the anniversary recognition but not allowing the empty chair.

"They keep making it about the tornado," said Niederhelman, who is supportive of marking the anniversary. "But if he'd died in a car accident or had leukemia, I would have still been asking for a seat."

Mo. disasters cost $36M; far less than expected

The town where she grew up, Summersville, Mo., with a population of about 500, always left an open seat for students who didn't live long enough to graduate with classmates, she said.

"It shows compassion for the family, for those who are still mourning," she said.

Georgianna Waters Diener of Carthage, Mo., is one of many Joplin area residents who have offered support for Niederhelman's request. Diener said she never met Zachary but understands Niederhelman's plight.

"I cannot see any district denying a mother," said Diener, who has expressed an interest in staging a protest every month until graduation. "I will protest in February, March and April until this is changed."

Joplin High School graduation is on the campus of the Missouri Southern State University. In 2011, the ceremony had just concluded when the deadly storm started making its way through the city.

If the school district doesn't change its policy before this year's graduation, Niederhelman said she'll stand outside the ceremony in protest — next to an empty chair for her son.

"If they are not going to honor him with a seat inside, we'll have one outside," she said. "He'll have a seat one way or another."

Follow Claudette Riley on Twitter: @CRileyNL