Mother honors her son weeks after fatal accident

MILAN, Tenn. — A West Tennessee mother pledges to keep her son’s memory alive after losing him in a car crash just weeks ago, and she’s doing it in a creative way.

Sixteen-year-old Zakary Yarbrough’s legacy continues to live on thanks to his mom, Cyndi. She has been working on a project that will benefit the community and honor Zak at the same time. Cyndi and her friend Besty Dismuke decided it would be a good idea to honor and remember Zak by selling car decals for his friends and family.

“That way they have a little token of him forever,” Cyndi said.

The decals are being sold for $6 with $2 from each one sold going to Zak’s favorite charity.

“We’re actually going to give it to a local charity here in Milan. It’s going to go to our soup kitchen, ‘Paul’s Kitchen,'” Cyndi said.

Cyndi said she’s glad to say they’ve sold nearly all of the decals created so far.

“We’ve got 30-something made and I’ve already sold 27, so we’re doing really good.”

Betsy, the one behind the creation, said graphic design is a hobby of hers, but doing something for Cyndi and her family makes it extra special.

“This is something that we could do and pay it forward. People don’t pay it forward enough anymore,” Betsy said.

After the passing of Zak nearly four weeks ago, Cyndi continues to stay strong.

“Losing your only son when he was only 16 years old, it’s tough. We take it day by day. We know he’s with our Lord,” Cyndi said.

Cyndi said the design comes from Zak’s love for music and his involvement with the church.

“This is something that my son would have loved. If it would have been me or his father, he would have been doing the same thing.”

Cyndi said she plans to continue to get the word out through social media.