Firefighters reinstall cross to honor teen killed in 2020 Alva crash

A once-damaged memorial is now standing in remembrance of a teen once again. Alva firefighters remade and installed a cross in memory of Ethan Burgess, a 14-year-old boy who died in a crash in November 2020.

“It’s a forever sadness,” said Josh Nahm, Ethan’s stepfather. “It’s not like something that just goes away.”

Nahm says it’s still painful to drive by that spot on SR-80. About a year and a half after Ethan died, another crash damaged the cross left in his memory.

“Originally, I thought… I didn’t know that someone hit it. I thought someone stole it,” Nahm said.

Alva Fire Control and Rescue Service District had it and fixed it to keep Ethan’s memory alive.

“It’s kind of overwhelming because I don’t expect anything from anyone. And they just went out of their way to do it,” Nahm said. “And they wouldn’t accept anything, not even recognition.

But their refusal didn’t stop Ethan’s stepdad from posting on Facebook to share the family’s appreciation.

“It’s not a replacement for someone. It’s a memorial. So, at the end of the day, things are things, and people are people, and you can replace things, but you can’t replace people,” said Nahm.

Alva firefighters didn’t want to be interviewed for this story, either, though they sent WINK News a statement saying they were honored to reinstall a memorial that meant so much to their small community.