“…before she departed that Waffle House for heaven’s gate.”
Shirl Baker, the mother of DeEbony Groves, who was tragically shot and killed at a Waffle House in Tennessee, accepted her daughter’s college diploma on her behalf during what would have been her graduation ceremony on Saturday.
On Saturday, Robert Fisher, president of Belmont University, acknowledged the missing student during his commencement address.
“While our hearts were broken, today we have the chance to celebrate DeEbony’s life together,” News Channel 5 reported he said.
In a powerful moment, amidst her grieving, Baker walked across the stage to accept her daughter’s degree on her behalf.
Baker wasn’t the only member of their family to take the momentous journey across the stage.
Her brother, Di’Angelo Groves, was also graduating on Saturday and in a moment that was meant to be experienced alongside his sister, he wiped tears away as the school announced a scholarship in his sister’s honor.
During DeEbony’s funeral, which took place only a week earlier, Waffle House CEO Walt Ehmer told attendees that in her last moments, she was singing gospel songs.
“And that’s the higher power that inspired the last reported words of DeEbony Groves as she and her friend were singing ‘Yes, Jesus Loves Me’ just before she departed that Waffle House for heaven’s gate,” Fisher said in his commencement speech.
Both Di’Angelo and Baker received a standing ovation at the ceremony.
Jenni Fink, Senior Writer. She joined IJR in 2016 as a writer and covers primarily politics and stories about inspiring human beings. She graduated fr… more
