'A big-eyed little girl': Washington High School lacrosse player loved the game, her team and family

PEORIA — Dan Richardson and his Washington Community High School lacrosse team will miss No. 27 on and off the field next spring.

They will miss how Avery Grazier played lacrosse with a passion, loved the game and her teammates, loved her family on the field and her family at home.

"She was a big-eyed little girl who loved lacrosse," Richardson said. "She ate and slept it. She was special."

And the 16-year-old Grazier is gone, a Washington junior-to-be who died early Monday morning while a passenger in a single-vehicle crash. The teen driver was charged with aggravated driving under the influence of alcohol and aggravated reckless driving.

"No one is invincible," Richardson said. "I first met her when she was in fifth or sixth grade, she was already planning, even then, to play lacrosse when she got to high school at Washington."

Grazier was a coachable kid on the lacrosse field and in the classroom. Now she will serve as a teachable moment.

Richardson, the head coach of the girls lacrosse team at Washington (which co-ops with Morton, Metamora, Pekin and Eureka), had the agonizing task of delivering that message to his team amid the shock of a beloved teammate's death.

"I told them something from Confucious," Richardson said. "Every man has two lives. The second one starts when you realize you have just one.

"You never think it's going to happen to you when you're young. This is one of those incidents you learn that one decision can change your life forever. I hate my team has to go through this to learn that lesson, sometimes it's just the way it happens.

"But it's a terrible way to learn."

Avery Love Grazier

Avery Love Grazier, 16, of Washington , died at 3:20 a.m. Monday in East Peoria. She was born on October 17, 2007, in Peoria to Dean and Sunshine Hardin Grazier.

She is survived by her parents, Sunshine (Jason) Elder and Dean (Lei) Grazier, all of Washington. She is also survived by siblings in her blended family: Evan Grazier, Bailey Elder, Brooke Elder, Breanna Elder, Isaac Elder, Lucas Elder, Rachel (Joe) Quinn, Ethan Wernsman, and Faith Wernsman.

And she is survived by grandparents Daniel and Connie Schultz, Mark and Melinda Gielarowski, and Jeanne Dean; great-grandparents Dail Martin and Lorreta Gielarowski; aunts Autumn (David) Lenz, Brittney (William) Hardin-Elwell, Hannah Schultz, Whitney Spear, Jennifer (Eric) Beckman, and Samantha (Jeremy) Cross, plus several cousins.

A visitation for Avery Grazier will be 4-6 p.m. Friday, July 26, at Deiters Funeral Home and Crematory in Washington, where a service will follow at 6:30 pm. Memorials can be made to the Avery Grazier Memorial Fund, in care of CEFCU.

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Her tribute wall on the Deiters Funeral Home online obituary had no shortage of mourners.

• "Sunshine, and all of Avery’s family, my heart is aching for you. Avery was such a sweet, kind girl. I will miss seeing her at WCHS. May you find comfort from family and friends during this very difficult time. Sending love and prayers." — Jennifer Davenport.

• "Avery had one of the sweetest souls I’ve ever meet. She was the type of person you only meet once in your lifetime. I never knew what a true friendship was like until I met her, she took the time to understand me and take care of me. She made such a positive impact on my life and so many others. She’ll forever be in my heart. To her families, I'm so sorry for what you're going through right now. LLA" — Megan.

• Washington Community High School superintendent Dr. Kyle Freeman also released a statement to parents in the district: "We continue to feel a great loss after the passing of one of our own, and I know many of you would like to honor your student’s schoolmate and friend. On behalf of her family, we are sharing information about arrangements for Avery Grazier. ... We extend our condolences to the family and friends who are hurting, and hope that time spent together will provide helpful support during this difficult time."

'She was a firecracker'

Avery Grazier was working at the Washington Park District as a counselor and teacher for its day camp.

"She just loved kids," Richardson said. "She had been around the park district since a young age. She was playing lacrosse in the park district program, and I ran that program before it became an IHSA official sport.

"When I moved on to coach the high school team, her stepfather took over the park district program after me. Every year, at the beginning, we would try to get together, bring the high school players to a park district youth practice. High school players are like bigger than life to those little kids."

Richardson's son, Tyler — now a lacrosse player at Ole Miss — became friends with Avery Grazier's brother, Evan."We always joked that Evan was eating us out of house and home," Richardson said. "We love him. He's a great kid, and that's a great family and we're close with them."

Richardson watched as high school lacrosse grew in central Illinois. Bloomington has a co-op team in the IHSA. Washington has its co-op, and this season Dunlap will co-op with Richwoods, Illinois Valley Central, Manual and Peoria High.

The Panthers have 39 players on their roster. Avery Grazier was one of them, an attacker in a game that offers attackers, midfielders and defenders.

"This past season was her first on the varsity," Richardson said. "She was one of my two-way players, she'd play varsity and junior varsity games as a sophomore.

"She was a firecracker. Always."

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This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 'A big-eyed little girl': Washington High School lacrosse player loved the game, her team and family