Saquan Jamir Crawley had a smile that stayed with people.
His father, Ali, noticed it most after Saquan died, looking back through pictures of his son. Saquan smiled easily in photos, seeming to show the happy child he had been and the young man he was still trying to become.
“He had a smile that could get you,” Ali said.
Saquan was born Oct. 10, 1993 to Ali Crawley and Latasha Jones. He grew up mostly in West Philadelphia before moving to the Logan section of the city. As a child, he attended Birney Elementary School, where Ali volunteered.
Ali still laughs when he remembers Saquan at naptime in pre-K and kindergarten. Saquan would stay awake almost the whole time, playing around while adults told him to lie down. Then, maybe 10 minutes before naptime was over, he would finally fall asleep — then get frustrated when it was time to wake up.
Saquan’s childhood was not always easy. His mother struggled with addiction, Ali said, and several women on Ali’s side of the family helped raise him, especially Ali’s mother and sister. Ali was incarcerated when Saquan was young, but he stayed connected to his son and became more active in his life when he came home.
Saquan also found trouble in the streets, his father said. He was arrested several times and spent time in county jail, where he earned his diploma and first became interested in cutting hair.
By the time he died, Ali said, Saquan was trying to change his life. He had enrolled in barber school and was taking pride in his craft. Ali only got one haircut from his son, but he still remembers it.
“It was one of the best haircuts I ever had,” he said.
Saquan was also the father of two sons. Fatherhood slowed Saquan down and shifted his focus. He started coming home earlier, spending more time with his children, and trying to work more.
When Saquan visited his father, he often brought seafood for the family and brought his sons to see their grandfather. Those visits gave Ali three generations in one room: himself, his son and his grandsons.
Ali said one thing that made Saquan special was his ability to stop doing something once he decided he was done. He remembered Saquan quitting smoking cold turkey.
“He said he was gonna do it, he generally did it,” Ali said.
About eight months before Saquan died, father and son had a conversation Ali wishes he never had to remember. Ali, who has kidney problems, was telling Saquan how he wanted to be buried. Saquan interrupted to tell his father what he wanted for himself.
Ali did not want to hear it. But Saquan insisted.
Eight months later, Ali honored those wishes.
Saquan was shot and killed in the 4700 block of Griscom Street in North Philadelphia. He left behind his father, his children, siblings, grandparents, aunts and many others who loved him.
One person was arrested, but Ali said the loss remains unresolved for him in many ways. He still struggles with how the case was handled and believes others involved should have been held accountable.
Losing Saquan nearly broke him, Ali said. What helped bring him back were his grandchildren and a cat he got two days after his son was killed.
“My grandchildren,” he said, “and my cat.”
Ali wants people to understand that Saquan was more than the worst parts of his story. He made mistakes, Ali said, but he was also loved, caring, giving, and trying to find another way. Saquan was laid to rest on Feb. 11, 2019 at Friends Southwestern Burial Ground in Upper Darby.
