Throughout the year, family members have been remembering their son and brother and even celebrated his birthday.
By: Donna Lukiw
Judy Miranda sits in her living room every day between 4 p.m. and 5:30 p.m. and waits for her son, Keith, to walk through the door, even though she knows that will never happen again.
It’s been almost a year since the 17-year-old Manville High School student was hit and killed by a train and his family is still learning to cope with his death. Officials closed their investigation without determining whether Keith’s death was accidental or a suicide.
"It feels like it just happened yesterday," said William Miranda, Keith’s father. "It’s still really much with me on a daily basis. There’s a sense of loss. There’s an emptiness inside of me. I feel like I’ve been broken and there’s a hole."
Throughout the year, Keith’s family has been remembering their son and brother and even celebrated his birthday on June 24.
Mr. Miranda said a block party was organized on Jasinski Avenue with a huge banner hanging in the street with the words "Happy Birthday Keith."
"We invited his friends and people in town," Mr. Miranda said. "The point was to celebrate his life. We wanted people to enjoy themselves."
Mr. Miranda said the family also planted a willow tree in Keith’s name in their front yard, said a few words in Keith’s memory and released 18 helium balloons in the air.
Keith’s older brother Joe, 21, said he still continues to play and watch sports like he did with his younger brother.
"I have a little more understanding," Joe said. "Now, I have to deal with the fact that he’s not here … I still miss him a lot. It’s still not totally real for me."
Although it will be one year on Nov. 11 since Keith’s death, Mr. Miranda said he doesn’t know how he would be coping if it weren’t for the rest of his family.
"I think about him almost every day," Mr. Miranda said. "I cry almost every day. It’s not paralyzing me because I know I still have to work and support my family and now I have a granddaughter. She is the silver lining. If I didn’t have any other family it would be very difficult for me."
Ms. Miranda said that besides waiting for her son to walk through the front door after school, it is difficult for her to pass by Keith’s bedroom.
"When is my heart going to heal?" Ms. Miranda asked. "It’s been hard not having him here."
Mr. Miranda said there are many pictures of Keith hanging on the walls around the house so he is not forgotten.
On Nov. 11, Mr. Miranda said the family plans to spend time alone in private while remembering Keith.

