"[Garrett] was all about making people happy," a former Winnipegger and well-known radio personality said as he remembered his son's life.

Tragedy struck David Mills (known as Buzz Collins here in Winnipeg) and his family when their 15-year-old son, Garrett Mills, was killed by a soccer net landing on his head. Garrett had been doing chin-ups on the bar when the net fell and hit him in the head.

David said he wants to bring awareness to the cause, and make sure all soccer nets are anchored from now on to prevent further tragedy, but also pay tribute to his son. For David, it's about Garrett's legacy.

In fact, legacy is something that father and son had just discussed a few weeks ago. "He asked me not that long ago, just out of the blue . . . 'Dad, what's a legacy?'

"I explained to him what it was. Something that someone leaves behind after they're gone. A reputation of sorts . . . He thought about that for a moment and said, 'Huh, I'd like to leave a legacy someday.'"

Despite the tragedy, David doesn't want people talking about how he died, but rather how his son lived. It's the legacy that Garrett is leaving behind; one that cared about, and for, people.

"How he died needs to be known so the risk becomes a non-issue, but I'm hoping to get the word about Garrett himself, what a positive impact he was.

"He was all about making people happy."

Since the tragedy, stories have been pouring in about the amazing things that Garrett did for others, many of which his parents didn't know. David said he had sat with a stranger in his school just to make them feel better.

"Garrett was a unique individual," David reminisced. "[He] really was different in a great way, he was a very positive kid."

Many sons look up to their fathers. David went the other way.

"I looked up to my 15-year-old son, I wanted to be more like he was," David said. "He had this ability to see the beauty that was within people before he ever noticed the external.

"I want his life to inspire others."

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Former Winnipegger trying to prevent tragedy after son killed by soccer net