The Rev. Frederick Miller stood above the small white casket, flanked by photographs of the little boy inside. Kyzr Willis striking a strongman pose, flexing his skinny arms. Kyzr and his brother asleep in the back seat of a car. Kyzr as a grinning baby.
From the pulpit, Miller called out to mourners: “How many of you loved Kyzr?’’
In the front pew, the 7-year-old’s mother, Melissa Willis, slowly raised her hands, her fingernails painted purple and green in honor of her son’s favorite Ninja Turtle, Donatello. She leaned back and pressed her fists to her forehead as the crowd around her called back as one.
“We love you Kyzr! We love you!’’ they said.
Hundreds came to Morning Star Baptist Church in Mattapan Thursday to bid a somber farewell to Kyzr, who drowned at Carson Beach in South Boston last week after going missing from a city-run day program. But as they laid Kyzr to rest, his family took comfort in the hope that his death would help keep other children safe.
“Kyzr, he’s saving lives today. He’s saving other children’s lives,’’ Willis’s uncle Edward Toney said during the funeral. “Throughout the whole city of Boston, there is change today because of Kyzr. Another family will never have to go through this again.’’
Last week, city officials announced a host of new oversight measures at summer drop-in programs, from stricter staffing requirements to hourly head counts of children.
Kyzr went missing after he and other children had finished a swim. He was found underwater about four hours later, some 20 yards from shore.
Kyzr was remembered as a sunny, rambunctious child who loved to skate at Chez-Vous Roller Rink, where he adored the french fries and slushies. Toney recalled taking Kyzr to the rink just a few weeks ago and hearing him shout to his cousin: “I want a new pair of roller skates!’’
Derick Toney, Kyzr’s older cousin, remembered how close Kyzr was to his 9-year-old brother, Ralph.
“You both bonded like twins that never spent a moment apart,’’ Toney said. Kyzr, whom his family called “Bubbs,’’ could make him smile like no one else.
“You really didn’t mean to be funny most of the time, you just spoke your mind,’’ he said, as Melissa Willis and Kyzr’s father, Ralph Toney, held each other and nodded together.
Throughout the service, clergy and relatives spoke of their struggle to make sense of Kyzr’s death.
“Oh, God, we don’t have answers this morning,’’ Miller said as the service began. “Oh, God, right now today, we need you more than anybody.’’
Bishop John Borders assured Kyzr’s parents that the city would not forget their child.
“When Kyzr was born, he was your son,’’ he said. “But on July 26, he became Boston’s son.’’
Boston Mayor Martin J. Walsh and Boston Police Superintendent-in-Chief William Gross attended the funeral.
Kyzr’s casket was filled with Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles gear — a plush toy, an action figure, a balloon, and a hand-drawn picture. Many mourners dressed in white, and the service was filled with tears and emotional singing performances.
At one point, a young woman with a clear, strong voice led the church in a Gospel hymn:
“I sing because I’m happy, I sing because I’m free, His eye is on the sparrow, I know he watches me,’’ as mourners rose to their feet and swayed, crying and calling out.
At the end of the service, pallbearers in white tuxedos, including Kyzr’s father, carried his casket out of the church and into a horse-drawn hearse with wide windows. Ralph Toney stood for a moment by himself, his palm pressed to the glass.
Andy Rosen of the Globe staff contributed to this report. Evan Allen can be reached at evan.allen@globe.com. Follow her on Twitter @evanmallen.
