Tri-City student left a ‘legacy of love.’ Now, his school wants to name a gym after him
If you were walking the halls of Southridge High School about 15 years ago, chances are you exchanged a smile or a friendly conversation with Jovan Conn.
He was everywhere, helping the sports teams, performing at talent shows and even volunteering in the community.
Everyone — staff and students alike — knew who “Jo Jo” was.
And it’s sorta still that way today. Conn’s name and legacy lingers in Southridge halls even 15 years after his death.
Now, the Class of 2023 is working to name the school’s gymnasium for him as part of their senior gift.
Class president Brook Mihelich said they want to fix the broken spirit students have felt since returning to in-person learning following the COVID pandemic. Conn embodied the Southridge Suns spirit, she said.
“Jo Jo was incredibly social, attending all school events. We want students to see themselves like Jo Jo,” she said. “I believe this is the impactful step we need to take to repair our Southridge spirit. Jo Jo left behind a legacy and we want to leave inspiring other students with Jo Jo’s spirit.”
The school already awards the annual Jo Jo Conn Spirit Award to students who show love, spirit and pride for the school while also working and spending time with students with disabilities.
The effort received the school board’s support March 22, when it unanimously approving the process to create a school committee and start the process to rename the gym.
Parts of the process will likely be expedited so that it can be completed and returned to the school board for adoption before the class graduates on June 10.
Family response
Conn’s mother, Moraima Phillips, said she was surprised to receive the call from Mihelich detailing their effort to rename the gym.
“My response was just, I couldn’t believe it. I was in shock, and then I went from shock to being in tears,” she said. “I was so excited and all I could tell her was thank you. Southridge meant so much to him and it was true blessing.”
Conn attended Southridge 2004-2008 and was part of the school’s life skills program. He encouraged his fellow students with disabilities to get involved in school activities and sports. His enthusiasm was a confidence booster for many.
He played soccer and was part of the school’s track and field team. Conn also helped out with the Suns football, baseball and boys basketball events, and he was quite proud of the personal scorebooks and stat sheets he kept on athletes.
“He was always about school spirit and just being joyful and excited about Southridge,” Phillips said. “He never missed a beat. He was there for everything.”
And he didn’t leave his passion at the school door.
Out in the community, Conn worked as an assisant and caddie at Canyon Lakes Golf Course. He was a member of the Kennewick First Baptist Church, The Arc of Tri-Cities and participated in Special Olympics. He also volunteered as a P.E. aide at Southgate Elementary School.
Conn also loved to sing and was always participating in talent shows.
“He knew every Backstreet Boys song, thanks to me,” Phillips said.
But his favorite type of music were ballads. Phillips recalls he would fall asleep at night listening to Delilah Rene’s syndicated radio show.
“Holidays are always tough. He was my partner in crime when it came to movies, and baking and cooking,” she said.
‘A legacy of love’
Conn died at the age of 20, just a year before he was set to graduate from Southridge alongside his sister, Monique Vasquez.
“We used to do everything together,” Vasquez said. “We were like partners in crime, and every time we were together we were known as ‘Mo and Jo.’”
Whether it was homecoming, school sports or in the cafeteria — wherever you found Monique you would find Jo Jo.
More than a year before they were set to don cap and gowns, they were already planning how they would walk up together to get their diplomas.
“For me, I think that naming the gym after my brother will change a lot because my brother was the type of person who was always the happiest. I want people to realize that there are special needs kid out there,” she said. “I’m just so honored that the Class of 2023 would do this for my brother.”
Phillips said Jo Jo died in his sleep from an undiagnosed birth defect that resulted in an enlarged heart.
“I always found that ironic because I used to always say that my buddy had a large heart and that’s what took him,” she said.
More than 1,500 people came out to his memorial service, Phillips said. The school effectively shut down for a week as staff and students grieved.
Today, his spirit lives on through his family, friends, former classmates and the staff who knew him.
“It was a legacy of love, and kindness and hope. And living life to the fullest,” Phillips said.
And, every year, she comes back to Southridge High School to cater lunch for life skills staff and students.
It’s part of a promise she gave to Jo Jo — that she would continue to take care of his Southridge family no matter what happened.
Because they took care of him.
