Roxborough fire victims remembered

Friends and family celebrate the lives of Jeremy McCarroll, Joey Shedron and Amber Jeffers

By April M. Washington, Rocky Mountain News (Contact)

Published August 5, 2008 at 12:05 a.m.

Text size

Photo by © Special to the Rocky

Amber Jeffers and Joey Shedron

Photo by © Special to the Rocky

Jeremy McCarroll often came to the defense of friends.

More Local News

More stories »

* JEREMY McCARROLL

Jeremy McCarroll gave much of himself in his short life.

Though just 20 years old, he was considered a big brother to middle-schoolers, the meek and the defenseless in his Roxborough Village neighborhood.

A day after he and two of his closest friends perished in an intense house fire, friends and family celebrated his life with an outpouring of flowers and shared memories.

"He was everyone's brother," said his brother, Nate McCarroll, 19. "He was there for anyone in need. He wouldn't let anyone make fun of someone who was challenged in life. He was a genuine man.

"It's a sad loss for my family. We're in shock. You don't want to believe it."

McCarroll often came to the defense of lifelong friends like Tressa Riggert, 17, who has special needs.

"He would stand up for me when I was getting teased or picked on," she said. "He was so nice. I will miss his smile."

McCarroll was considered a miracle baby.

His parents, Pat and John, tried for years to have children before they finally had their two sons 18 months apart, said Cindy Masson, a friend and former neighbor.

The McCarrolls were among the first families to move to Roxborough Village in the late 1980s.

McCarroll, who attended Metro State College, graduated from ThunderRidge High School in 2006, where he was known as the school comedian with dead-on impersonations. He took acting classes and dreamed of becoming a comedian and actor.

"I was hoping to see him make it," said Nate McCarroll. "But I guess God wanted him."

* JOEY SHEDRON

The home where Joey Shedron perished in Sunday's tragic fire was a shrine to the young man who meant everything to his father.

Inside the house on Fairwood Street sat mounds of trophies the 22-year-old won while motocross racing.

Joey was his father's reason for living, said longtime neighbors and friends.

"His son was all he had," said Jean Hawn, a neighbor who has known the family for more than 20 years. "His dad called him his 'little buddy.' "

Shedron was an avid motocross racer and well-known in the racing world, both in Colorado and internationally.

His father, Joseph Shedron, owned several motorcycle shops and sponsored racers, including his son. Dirt-Bike magazine recognized the racing duo in 2003 for their work in supporting a grueling long-distance dirt-bike ride.

"I can picture being inside Joey's house now - their whole life was motocross," said Nate McCarroll, a longtime family friend.

"Their whole house had trophies on the fireplace up to your head. He had photos of Joey racing on all the walls."

Shedron was a popular student at Douglas County High School, from which he graduated in 2004.

His home is where the neighborhood crew, known as The Original Roxborough Kids, congregated for a good time.

"He was a laid-back guy and someone everyone looked up to," said Richard Vilapando, a high school friend, who stopped by the neighborhood to pay his respects.

A group of close-knit friends gathered at Joey's house Saturday night to comfort him after learning his mother had died earlier in the day from brain cancer.

"Joe's ex-wife left when Joey was just 2," said Hawn. "She only saw Joey once a summer. It's been just him and his dad for a long time."

Joey always looked out for his dad, Big Joe.

"(Joey) loved my spaghetti," added Hawn. "He wouldn't take a plate home unless there was enough for his dad."

* AMBER JEFFERS

Lisa Case had three children.

One died of SIDS when he was 3 months old.

She lost her youngest daughter, Amber Jeffers, to a house fire Sunday morning.

"She only has her 20-year-old daughter left," said Case's sister, Nancy Crowson, who traveled 10 hours Sunday from Tulsa, Okla., to lend support. "What's happened is just awful.

"My sister has been through enough in her life. She's only 40."

Jeffers had moved into the home on Fairwood Street five weeks ago, shortly after she turned 18 on June 27.

She had been dating Joey Shedron for about a year.

Jeffers' family struggled to make sense of the tragedy that took someone so young.

"She was beautiful, inside and out," said Crowson as she snapped photos of what remains of the home where Amber slept soundly upstairs when the inferno erupted in the middle of the night.

"She was a sweet, funny girl. I don't think they'll find these kids did anything wrong. They were just asleep. My family is just heartbroken."

Jeffers was born in Tulsa. She was a spirited gymnast who loved to tumble and laugh.

She loved her family and often would write heartfelt letters to her grandfather after her mother remarried and moved to Colorado three years ago, said family members.

"She had a really good heart," said her grandfather, Gene Wray. "I loved the letters she wrote. They went a long way in filling the void in my heart."

Subscribe to the Rocky Mountain News