It was an average night for Mason Love and his family. He was preparing dinner with his dad, something Mason enjoyed doing. He had free time before then so he went outside.

“I’ll call you when it’s time to do the mashed potatoes,” his dad told him.

Mason went to go ride his Honda side-by-side with his older brother DJ Love to pass time, as he often did.

Only minutes later, red and blue lights with sirens filled their once quiet property.

On that night of July 20, The Woodlands Hospital informed the family that Mason died on impact after the side-by-side flipped on top of him.

“He was the most kind, genuine, and caring person you’d ever meet, His dad always said he had a heart the size of Texas. This experience is the worst thing that has happened.”

Mason’s family had purchased the ATV two years ago from a family member. It wasn’t strange to see him riding it for hours at a time. It was when his dad heard DJ — Mason’s older brother — shouting. Something was strange.

After going outside, he found the ATV flipped over on Mason.

“DJ started shouting ‘Mason! Mason!’ and he rushed outside and saw him pointing at  the flipped side by side,”  Nicole said. “His dad says he passed that night because he had ‘a heart too big, a heart the size of Texas.’”

FAMILY LOVE

Mason had a strong bond with his family. His mother credits his birth as the reason his family stayed together.

“The day that I found out I was pregnant with him was the happiest day of my life,” Nicole said. “Our family was having emotional struggles, but when I found out I was pregnant, that all changed. Mason had blessed us that day; he was like the glue of our family, the missing piece.”

Mason turned 15 only 12 days before his death. At the time his property had no power as a result of Hurricane Beryl, so they planned a celebration without dinner later that month. In the meantime, Mason was given money and went to the mall, but did not return with much for himself.

“It hurts so much that his birthday just passed and we never got the opportunity to celebrate,” Nicole said. “He was just so caring, he spent most of his money on his girlfriend at the time and his niece, Lyla. He was always thinking of other people before himself, even on his birthday.”

LOVE THY NEIGHBOR

He was perceived by his family as an outgoing, caring and selfless person. Every year, he and his mother hand out donations to homeless people around Texas in cooperation with The Matthew 25:40 Outreach Project.

“He honestly pushed me to continue to donate,” Nicole said. “I remember one time I didn’t want to get up that morning (to donate to the homeless) and I was just going to skip that day, but Mason kept pushing me ‘Come on mom you got to do it’, so now I do it in his memory. It was just something so natural to him and, (Nicole paused to control her emotions) he just loved everyone around him so much.”

Mason had a bright future. Even if he didn’t know down which path that was. Mason played football at Moorhead Junior High for two years thanks to his older brothers, but also showed interest in joining the military. When he reached high school, his passion changed to bull riding.

“Mason got back from the high school summer football practice, it was funny, he said ‘Nope it’s not for me mom’,” Nicole said. “We put him in bull riding lessons and it was like we could just see the spark in his eye. He said he wanted to pursue the military, but when he would talk about bull riding his face would just light up and you could just tell.”

In Nicole’s eyes, Mason was a kid who liked to stay at home. When the community showered her with support, the number of friends Mason had made surprised her. Of those friends, sophomore Cullen Rogers was his closest of four years.

“It’s shocking, we honestly did everything together,” Rogers said. “Appreciate your friends while they’re still here. Spend as much time as you can, it may not seem as important until they’re gone.”

In honor of Mason’s past on Moorhead football, Head football Coach Jesus Gonzalez arranged players to wear his initials, “ML” on their helmet for the season and  hang his banner at the 50-yard line before every game.

“He is missed dearly, and the initials and his banner are my way of showing respect to him and his family,” Gonzalez said. “His glee and personality were bright and stood out to me. He will be remembered.”

His mother also plans to honor her son by carrying his passion of giving back to the community.

“I won’t let mason’s will die, I’m going to continue to give to the people in need,” Nicole said. “It’s what Mason would have wanted me to do, he was always thoughtful of others. He still inspires me even though he’s not here to tell me.”

Nicole says her family has been handling the grief together. The Love family continues to look to the future, bringing the memory of Mason with them.

“The loss of your son is indescribable, it’s like that piece of our family is missing again, It honestly can happen to anyone, what Mason would want us to do is continue to live our life to the fullest. That was something he did.”

This story was originally published on Creek Compass on October 17, 2024.