Camden, Tenn.–The Camden Little League honored the late Sonny Melton by retiring his uniform #15 over the weekend.
His mother, Susan Melton said it was a special day for the Sonny Melton family, who attended the ceremony at the ball field. Sonny was one of 58 victims of the Las Vegas mass shooting in 2017. He died shielding his wife, Heather Gulish Melton, as they were attending a music festival there.
Susan Melton said, “Today was a pretty special day for the Sonny Melton family. Heather, James, Janie and I were privileged to attend a ceremony as the Camden Little League honored Sonny by retiring his uniform #15. A special thank you to Kris Lynch for making this happen. When Sonny turned 13 he started playing summer baseball in Camden. Kris was Sonny’s coach and took Sonny under his wing that first year. He was more than a coach he was a mentor and friend to Sonny. Sonny and Jake both played summer ball at Camden. We were blessed to have made many new friends during this period and I cherish the time and memories made.”
Kris’s presentation was so heartfelt, she said. “His words and emotions touched my heart…of course I couldn’t hold back tears. There were so many memories shared as most of Sonny’s coaches (and their families) from the Camden league came out today, as well as some of his teammates and friends and family from Big Sandy and Big Sandy Little League. It was so wonderful to see all of these folks. We laughed and recalled many funny stories, but no doubt we were all emotional at times. It is hard not to be, even after 5 1/2 years since we lost Sonny.”
Photo courtesy of Susan Melton.