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Community Throws Block Party to Say Goodbye to Local Superhero

Neighbors and strangers came together in Forney Wednesday to throw a block party sendoff fit for a superhero.

It was part of a plan devised by Kyle Ford who took to Facebook just a couple of days ago to ask for help planning a final hurrah for his cousin Jay Williams.

Jay, he explained, has just a few weeks left to live after being diagnosed with stage 4 stomach cancer back in June.

“This is just an idea that kind of snowballed for me,” said Ford.

Ford calls Jay, ‘just a big kid.’ The 35-year-old has also been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, and family says he functions at the same level of a 10-year-old. Because of that, his favorite things include sports, superheroes and fast cars. That’s why more than a half dozen of them showed up to give him a final ride.

“We’re trying to send him off having one of the best days of his life,” said Ford.

While they were surrounded by friends, others who gave up their day for Jay were complete strangers.

John Sherman said he felt moved to bring his car along when he saw the post on Facebook.

“I like doing things for people and felt inspired that, you know, what I had going on today wasn’t nearly as important as this,” said Sherman.

It’s a sentiment that brought Jay’s parents to tears.

“This is just amazing… all of the love. People went to a lot of trouble just to do this for Jay… He’ll be talking about this. As long as he has, he’ll be talking about this,” said Jay’s mom Diana Jensen.

“And we’ll have something to remember him by also,” added Jay’s dad James Williams.

The highlight of the day came via text from the owner of Jay's favorite team, Mark Cuban. Cuban sent along a greeting for Jay with the promise of floor seats at first game of the season for the Mavericks, though family says they don't know how much time he has left. 

For now, they're raising funds to provide for the full-time hospice care nurse that's moved in. They're keeping him as comfortable as possible while the community helps create memories to last him through whatever time he has left.

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