On August 27th, Raymond Hernandez, Herriman High’s band director passed away from a long battle to stage four colon cancer. Herriman High students have been doing as much as possible to support the memorial for Mr. Hernandez. At the Herriman Football game, against Syracuse; Herriman changed the theme to “blue out” as the color blue was Mr. Hernandez’s favorite color.
Students love and miss their band director. Individuals say that he was a great teacher, and always had such a bright spirit. They love and miss him, and know that he can rest now. A memorial was held at Herriman High’s football field. At the beginning of the game, a moment of silence was held, then the band had their moment to play for Mr. Hernandez and his remembrance. Students made a banner with Hernandez’s name in the front of the student section, doing all that they can to spread their gratitude for the amazing work he has done.
On the Jordan District website, an article was posted, on September 6th, 2024 titled, “Utah band students show up to support Herriman High School mourning the loss of beloved band director” it states “Band students representing Lone Peak High School, Pleasant Grove High School, Mountain Ridge High School, Davis High School, Kearns High School, Riverton High School, Timpview High School, Salem Hills High School, and West Jordan High School traveled to Herriman High to sit in the stands showing their support, while the Herriman High band practiced on the football field this week.”
Hernandez was interviewed on October 12th, 2023, when he first got diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. On herrimanjournal.com they wrote an article titled “Support for Herriman Band director is forte”
Mr. Hernandez said “everytime I go into my office, there’s a new gift basket on my desk.”
Even before Hernandez passed away, his students showed support during competitions, by wearing blue ribbons. “Focusing on the marching band practices and performances helps distract me from dwelling on my illness and treatments,” said Mr.Hernandez. Burnham mentioned in the article that Hernandez said, “You would think all this craziness would make me more stressed, but it’s actually a really good break, I love being with these kids. I think this would be a lot harder if I didn’t have those kids with me.”
The interview from 2023 just shows how much he was selfless, he cared about his students so much that they were his peace. Although he was going through a lot, he decided that his students mattered to him more. During his battle, band directors and students showed support towards him to let him know that he had people there for him. Even now, students, bands, and band directors from all over have been showing as much support as they can. Especially at Herriman High, the band and students have been wearing blue, and dedicating the whole week to Mr. Hernandez to show how much Herriman High loves Mr. Hernandez. He showed true passion for his students. Herriman High students were so lucky to have him, and will continue to carry his caring and kind legacy.
