After loss, Jonathon and John Conyers fulfill a mother’s dream with a shared walk across the stage
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — This weekend, the graduation stage at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi will carry more than academic triumphs—it will carry the weight of a promise, the depth of love, and the memory of a mother.
“I was already scheduled for classes but it was a really crazy time in our lives. So it was very hard,” said Jonathon Conyers, who enrolled at the university in fall 2021 just weeks after the passing of his mother, Norma, due to cancer. But he wasn’t walking into this next chapter alone—his father John enrolled with him.
“Since he was little she knew he was going to graduate college,” John Conyers said of his late wife’s dream.
What followed was a four-year journey not just of education but of healing. Jonathon chose to major in violin performance, a heartfelt tribute to his mother’s favorite instrument.
“My mom’s favorite instrument was a violin. So I took orchestra, also because I knew she really liked it and I wanted to play something good for her,” he shared.
John, meanwhile, pursued a degree in art. His work in illustration, painting, and ceramics often revolved around his son’s music.
“A lot of my art revolves around Jonathon, the violin, the music all of that seems to come out in my art,” he said.
Though their classes were in the same building, their campus interactions were brief.
“If we came across each other I would give him a fist bump and that was about it. Although I wanted to give him a hug,” John said.
“Sometimes we would leave the house at the same time and he would steal my parking spot when we would get to school,” Jonathon added with a laugh.
Despite the light-hearted moments, the real glue holding their journey together was grief—a shared pain that turned into shared strength.
“Knowing when he had days where the grief piled on, knowing there were days where he was going through the same thing that I was going through and going to school and working full time pushes you to think well I can do that too,” Jonathon said.
Now, as they prepare to graduate together, they’re doing more than receiving degrees—they’re fulfilling a sacred promise.
“We’re going to walk the stage together with her urn as well. It’s kind of a symbolic thing like we made it,” Jonathon said.
“She would be over the moon, floating on air. This would be her crowning moment for him,” John added, reflecting on what this achievement would have meant to Norma.
Jonathon will be honored as an Outstanding Islander Graduate and is set to begin his master’s degree in music at the University of Oregon.
This story reminds us that the journey through grief can be paved with purpose. The Conyers’ graduation is not just a celebration of academic success—it is a powerful tribute to family, perseverance, and the enduring strength of love. In a world often obsessed with accolades, this moment is a testament to the beauty of keeping promises and the healing that comes when we walk through life together, even through its hardest seasons
Source:
- https://youtu.be/dniXuyJ-6n4?si=iLtio_6j5JDI9uTt
- https://www.kristv.com/news/local-news/in-your-neighborhood/corpus-christi/father-and-son-to-graduate-together-from-tamucc-after-mothers-passing-carrying-her-memory-across-stage
- https://chatgpt.com/
- https://app.pictory.ai/
About Author
