Candles in the Wind A Tribute to Matteo and His Playground

There were tears and rain, poems and songs, candles and a show of harsh yellow light and clouds on the western horizon at sunset Saturday as Matteo Henderson's friends gathered at Hillcrest Community Park.

Fifty people paid tribute to a special boy who died in March and left behind, with wheelchair ramps and wheelchair-friendly rubberized ground and other features to allow disabled children to play alongside other youngsters.

"It has meant a lot to us to see you all come out and join in the joy that was Matteo," said his mom, Liz Lamach. Matteo, who was blind and had cerebral palsy, was 11 when he died. 

"He had the most amazing capacity to love," Lamach said. "He would give us a one-arm hug or pat us softly with his open hand or — our favorite — he would turn his head toward you (or where he thought you were) and open his mouth like a baby bird, and this meant he wanted kisses ... He found joy in the birds singing, the rain, walks and mostly, cuddling. He loved to be held. He loved Barry Manilow, going to school, the San Francisco Giants and baseball in general. Watching Jeopardy with his grandma — he always got the final Jeopardy question right — and making Grandma sing, 'Jesus Loves Me' 450 times a visit."

Earlier in the day, Matteo was posthumously honored as a Melvin Jones Fellow, the highest honor of the international Lions Club, because of "the lives that Matteo has touched around the world through his playgrounds," said Dave Peters, a district governor of the Alameda and Contra Costa County District of the Lions.

The Hillcrest playground has inspired others to build playgrounds to accommodate special-needs children, including one in Australia that Peters has visited.

A few years ago, Lamach forwarded the idea of Matteo's Dream Playground as a member of Concord's Parks, Recreation and Open Space Commission, and the city got behind it. Mayor Laura Hoffmeister was one of those paying tribute Saturday evening.