RIP Jamey 500 gather for funeral of bullied gay 14-year-old who thanked Lady Gaga before committing suicide

By Daily Mail Reporter

Last updated at 1:40 PM on 25th September 2011

More than 500 people gathered yesterday for the funeral of a gay 14-year-old who took his own life after becoming the target of bullying both at school and online.
Jamey Rodemeyer, from Buffalo, New York, blogged about being suicidal and thanked Lady Gaga before committing suicide last Sunday.
Complete strangers were among the mourners who turned out yesterday to support the Rodemeyer family at the service at Saints Peter and Paul Church.
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Funeral: Family members of bullied teenager Jamey Rodemeyer walk his coffin out of church in Buffalo, New York

Tragic death: Jamey Rodemeyer, 14, had blogged about being suicidal after classmates incessantly taunted him for being gay

Fellow students drove past the church with trucks and buses covered with signs showing messages of tolerance.

Jamey Rodemeyer regularly posted about being bullied at school and how people would launch gay insults at him.

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But what was worse for Jamey, was that when he wrote of his pain and frustrations and cried for help in his blog postings, students at his school started to bully him online.
About 12 months ago on his Formspring account - which permits anonymous posts - other students started making gay references towards him.
'JAMIE IS STUPID, GAY, FAT ANND UGLY. HE MUST DIE!' read one post.

Tributes: More than 500 people gathered yesterday for the funeral

In memory: Friends of the teenager drove past the church with messages of tolerance

Another read: 'I wouldn't care if you died. No one would. So just do it :) It would make everyone WAY more happier!'
On September 9, Jamey wrote on his Tumblr site: 'I always say how bullied I am, but no one listens. What do I have to do so people will listen to me?'
The day before he wrote: 'No one in my school cares about preventing suicide, while you're the ones calling me [gay slur] and tearing me down.'
He put up a separate post that day letting everyone know it was National Suicide Prevention Week.
But still no one listened.

Fan: Jamey loved Lady Gaga and left a thank you to her as one of his last postings before he died

Gathering: Jamey Rodemeyer blogged about being suicidal before committing suicide

Last Saturday night he posted a lyric from Lady Gaga's song The Queen on his Facebook page which said: 'Don't forget me when I come crying to heaven's door.'

On 1.30am on Sunday morning, he left two final messages on one of his blogs saying he was looking forward to seeing his great grandmother, who recently died, and one as a tribute to Lady Gaga, thanking her.
His mother Tracy Rodemeyer , told Buffalo News: 'He touched so many hearts, so many people. I didn't realize how many people he touched.
'He was the sweetest, kindest kid you'd ever know. He would give all his heart to you before he gave any to himself.'
She said that her son had been questioning his sexuality over the last year and that his fellow students picked up on it and used it to taunt and bully him.

Warning: Jamey's Facebook post citing Lady Gaga lyrics

Friends of the 14-year-old reported the message posts to the school guidance counsellors, she said, but by then it may already have been too late.
'He was totally against bullying. He has had issues since fifth grade. He had suicidal tendencies back then,' she told Buffalo News.
She said she tried to talk to him on numerous occasions and asked him to talk to her about what was wrong, but he assured her that he was OK.
The weekend before he died, his family went to a camping spot they would frequently go to and his mother said he seemed really happy.

Scene: Jamey is the second student at Williamsville North High School to commit suicide in the last two years

Mrs Rodemeyer said: 'He used to cry about the taunts from his peers but they didn't seem to phase him this time. Lately, he's been blowing them off, or at least we thought he was.'
Jamey was a new student at Williamsville North High School and the student known to have committed suicide there since 2010. Joe Chearmonte, a junior honor student, died in February of last year.

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