Cleveland Teen's Memory Honored With Skyscraper's Shining Lights

Earlier this week, we covered a candlelight vigil and bonfire in Cleveland. The community pulled together and hundreds rallied around each other after a 16-year-old boy was killed Dec. 21 on icy U.S. 412.

On Friday morning, Brock Lynn Norton's friends and family gathered at Holy Family Cathedral in Tulsa for a funeral mass. That afternoon, his hometown packed the Cleveland Event Center for a celebration of life. More than 2,000 people attended the two ceremonies combined.

12/22/2013 Related Story: Community Gathers To Honor Cleveland Teen Killed In Icy Crash

Norton was known in Cleveland as a kid who never stopped smiling, went out of his way to be kind to others and had dreams of being a Major League Baseball player. His obituary proclaims he was "a small-town kid with big-league dreams." He was an all-conference player his freshman year in Class 4A baseball.

Norton also was a simple country boy who loved to rope and ride at rodeos. Mostly, he strived to brighten the days of others, friends say.

It was because of his bigger-than-life personality and desire to always do the right thing -- lift up classmates who were bullied and bring laughter to every situation -- that they have coined the phrase "Shine for Brock." Thousands of photos of flickering candles have been posted on Facebook and Twitter this week with the hashtag #shineforbrock.

See Facebook's #shineforbrock photos

See Twitter's #shineforbrock photos

Norton may not be with them any more physically, but he'll never lose his shine, friends say, because they plan to carry on his spirit.

On Friday evening, that "Shine For Brock" spirit was taken to a whole new level.

Because of a gesture by person who wishes to remain anonymous, Norton's baseball number is shining over downtown Tulsa until midnight. The number "13" is lit up in the windows of the iconic Mid-Continent Tower as a tribute to the young man and the way he lived his life.

Thousands of flickering candles around the world, a roaring bonfire and an illuminated 36-story skyscraper.

Shine, indeed.