LOWELL SUN - By DANA WILLHOIT, Sun Staff. Reprinted with permission.

March 29, 2003

LOWELL Some teenagers stood at the microphone and wept. Some sang. Some read poetry.

All were gathered Thursday at the gymnasium at the United Teen Equality Center to honor the memory of 20-year-old Tha Thach, who touched the lives of countless teens in the year he worked at the center.

Tha Thach was found dead in his Lowell home last week, felled by a congenital heart ailment.

"We lost a member of our family," Gregg Croteau, executive director of UTEC, told the crowd of around 275. "We're mourning, but we also want to celebrate what Tha meant to all of us."

Thach worked at the front desk of UTEC, greeting teens and encouraging them to sign up for programs and get involved in the community.

He helped organize a voter rally to get young people to vote, and was a member of the "Peace Team," an outreach group of former gang members who work with rival gangs to steer them away from violence.

Courtney Grey, an instructor at UTEC, hinted at Thach's past when he spoke to the crowd.

"He's someone who transformed himself. He lived one kind of life, and when he decided he didn't want to live like that any more, he transformed himself, like a caterpillar transforms into a butterfly," Gray said.

Grey asked the audience to stand up, hold hands, and observe a minute of silence in Thach's memory. The silence was punctuated by sobs and sniffles.

Afterwards, Grey urged the teenagers, "The most important thing is to literally take a piece of Tha, put it in your heart, and always keep it with you. Be sad right now, and then be done with it and start living the best life you can. Transform yourself to be the best you can be."

The teenagers who spoke at the microphone remembered Thach's kindness, encouragement and concern for them.

"He taught me how to play basketball. He taught me to love everybody, no matter what their color," one girl said, wiping away tears.

Thach left behind a 3 1/2 -year old son, Anthony, who lives in Lowell with his mother, and UTEC has set up a memorial fund to benefit him. Those interested in making donations can send them to the Tha Thach Memorial Fund, c/o UTEC, 10 Kirk St., Lowell, 01852.