The May Day Family Fun Day at Vernon Dahmer Park was meant to be a celebration. Children running through grass. Parents chatting on benches. Laughter carrying across the open space. But this year, the tone was different. The event hosted by PRVO Head Start and Early Head Start became a memorial for a 3 year old girl whose life ended far too soon.
Okoye Ny’ree Mixon died on April 20. An accidental shooting inside her Hattiesburg home. Her mother, Rhea Mixon, stood among the crowd at the park and spoke about the meaning behind her daughter’s name. “Warrior of grace,” she said. The words captured a child who was both strong and gentle, who brought energy into every room and warmth to every exchange.
The tragedy unfolded at the family’s residence. Two older brothers, ages 12 and 13, discovered what had happened and tried to get help. The weight of that moment has not lifted. The home where Okoye lived has become a space of painful memories. Rhea, a single mother of three, says her sons have been deeply affected by the trauma. The family is now planning to leave Hattiesburg.
Rhea has lived in the city for four years. But her roots are in Mobile, Alabama, where most of her extended family still lives. She believes being closer to relatives and having access to counseling services will help her children begin to heal. The move, however, comes with significant costs. Transporting Okoye’s remains, arranging cremation, and relocating a household have created a financial strain. There was no life insurance policy for the youngest child.
In the midst of her own grief, Rhea made a decision that surprised some but felt inevitable to those who know her. She donated Okoye’s organs and tissue. A mother who had just lost her daughter chose to give life to others. She hopes that Okoye’s legacy will now include the healing of strangers.
Community members have responded with support. A verified fundraiser has been established to help cover funeral expenses, moving costs, and the transition to a new home. Prayers have been offered. Meals have been delivered. Neighbors have sat in silence with a grieving mother who needed someone to stay.
The gathering at Vernon Dahmer Park was not a parade or a festival. It was a circle of people holding space for a family that had been shattered. Okoye’s memory, short as her time was, has become a thread pulling the community closer. For those who believe in such things, her name now carries even more weight. Warrior of grace. A child who left behind not anger, but an example of how to show up for one another.