De’Kiah Montgomery enjoyed Nerf gun wars with his 7-year-old nieces, music and making people laugh.
Now his family is trying to figure out how to move on without him. The 23-year-old Everman man died Oct. 13 from complications from injuries he suffered in a shooting 10 days earlier.
“It’s really hard to navigate day to day without him,” Montgomery’s sister Dacia Smith told the Star-Telegram.
Montgomery was more than a brother or sister, Smith said. He was her best friend and a father figure to her twin daughters, Aria and Amara.
Right now the family is taking it one day at a time. Smith said she tries to hold on to the lessons her brother taught her about the way he lived.
Montgomery had a big heart, Smith said. People were often intimidated by his size, but according to Smith, he was a gentle giant. He never lost his temper and would give you the shirt off his back if you needed it.
One of his special joys was his relationship with his twin nieces, Smith said. Montgomery and Smith had no father figure in their lives after their grandfather died, and Montgomery was determined to break that cycle with Smith’s children.
He attended Meet the Teacher with Aria and Amara and celebrated their good report cards with ice cream or other treats, Smith said. At their kindergarten graduation, Montgomery cheered louder than anyone when their names were called.
Photos on social media show Montgomery holding the twins as a baby, Montgomery with the girls at a mall, Montgomery and the twins on Halloween.
“He enjoyed being a part of whatever was happening,” Smith said.
To Smith, Montgomery was the curly-haired boy she watched growing up. She remembers coming home from the hospital as a baby and seeing him take his first steps. As a child, he spilled Kool-Aid powder on the kitchen floor, and Smith said it was her job to clean it up.
Montgomery always treated others with respect and brought love wherever he went, Smith said. She credits their mother, Shannon Montgomery, for her influence in his life.
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Fort Worth police are investigating the Oct. 3 shooting that led to Montgomery’s death, but no arrests have been announced. The Tarrant County Medical Examiner’s Office ruled his death a homicide.
According to Smith, her brother was at a block party the night of the shooting. He had been to that location several times and had even brought Smith and her daughters for the Fourth of July and his mother for a Mother’s Day event.
“He wasn’t somewhere he shouldn’t have been,” she said.
Police said Montgomery and 29-year-old Kinte Johnson were shot as they left the party. The two victims left the scene in a vehicle and after a short drive were involved in a crash near US 287 and Mitchell Boulevard, investigators said. Johnson was shot in the torso and died inside the vehicle in the 3100 block of Wesleyan Drive South.
Smith said she doesn’t know how her brother knew Johnson or even if the two were friends. A kind stranger found Montgomery after the shooting and took him to John Peter Smith Hospital.
Smith told the Star-Telegram she is grateful for the man who stopped to help Montgomery. She is also grateful for the JPS staff who cared for her brother during his final days.
Since his death, people who knew her brother from years ago have contacted Smith to share their stories and memories of what he meant to them.
“He made a lasting impact on people,” Smith said.
Montgomery’s family has organized a GoFundMe to help cover the 23-year-old’s medical and funeral expenses.
