Ahmir was a loving son and best friend to his mother, Preeti Tuli, of Pittsburgh, PA. His father, Anthony Horatio Saunders, is also of Pittsburgh, PA.
In addition to his parents he is also survived by his maternal grandparents, Satvinder and Kuldip Tuli, his paternal grandparents Valerie Davis, Arthur Lee and James White, his brother Horatio Saunders, his sisters Rayonna Nelson, Kerae Saunders, Monae Saunders, his many aunts, uncles, cousins, and friends.
Ahmir lived in Pittsburgh all of his life. He traveled frequently to his second home in Ohio, where he spent countless summers with his cousins. He was active in several after school organizations, he started off sports with tee ball, soccer, and then progressed to football and deck hockey as he got older. He recently had graduated with high honors from North Hills High School in 2020, but due to Covid, decided to take some time off to figure out his next steps.
Ahmir was an avid sports enthusiast and a lifelong fan of all the Pittsburgh-area professional sports teams, the Penguins and Steelers being his top two. He spent countless hours playing video games with friends. He enjoyed Madden, Call of Duty, there were many nights he stayed up until the wee hours of the morning, playing against friends, his giggles and laughter would fill the silent hallways, he just brought so much life to his mother's home.
Ahmir loved to hang out with his friends, eat out, go to the mall, shop and spend time with his mom and his girlfriend. He loved to order food from Door Dash and Grub Hub, he would surprise his mom with deep friend oreos, sometimes French onion soup from Applebee's. He loved to travel, had been to Cancun, Jamaica, India, and Canada to name a few.
In later years, he came to enjoy music, as it was his release and way to express himself, "YnfAhmir" was on several of his beaded bracelets, a representation of his free spirit.
Ahmir was a true friend to his friends - ready and willing at a moment's notice, always willing to go the extra mile to make someone smile, his hearty laugh brought his whole house alive. He also has a dog that he treated like his brother, Niko Boogies. They were attached the last 8 years, day in and day out, they really were each other's best friends.
Ahmir's mother would like him to be remembered by his soft smile, his cute little dimples, soft skin, pretty brown eyes, and long curly frosted tip tendrils, he always went to the barber shop and came back with an exclusive design. She always encouraged him to be himself, and supported him in everything that he decided to do. He was a great asset to the business, and was learning his role to eventually step in for his mom.
Ahmir's life was taken by senseless gun violence, as he was shot in the back of his head and MURDERED outside of his mother's bar and grill. Ahmir was protecting his mother, their place of employment, his soon to have been hand me down when he came of age, when his life was suddenly ended, with no warning or reasoning behind his sudden exit.
Ahmir's family extends their heartfelt thanks to the health-care professionals at Mercy Hospital for their care on the night he was shot.
Friends and family are invited to visit with Ahmir's family on Friday, March 5, 2021 from 2pm-8pm at the Orion C. Pinkerton Funeral Home, 1014 California Ave., Avalon, PA 15202. Ahmir's funeral service will be held 11:00 am on Saturday, March 6, 2021 at Calvary Baptist Church, 2629 Wylie Ave., Pittsburgh, PA, with a reception to follow.
A Letter to My Bubs
Ahmirrrrrrrr… I loveeeeeeee you babyyyyyyyy boyyyyyyy!
I want the whole world to know how special you are. I hope you can hear these words…
I want you to know that for the past 18 years, you have been my whole ENTIRE world. I swear I never knew a love like this… you came into this world in 2002, and forever changed my life. I remember when I found out that I was pregnant, I was terrified. I thought our family was going to disown me. I was only a sophomore in college, I remember calling your Nani on the phone, and hearing her tell me that she didn’t think I should keep you. Well, that conversation didn’t go over so well, as you can see. When she told me that as long as I defied her wishes, she didn’t want to have anything to do with me, I purposely stayed away and didn’t tell my dad I was pregnant until I was just about due. Your Nana drove to Pittsburgh and picked me up, and took me back to Ohio to reunite with the family. I had him bring me back to Pittsburgh, to take me to my weekly doctor appointment, and as soon as he heard your little heartbeat, and saw you wiggling on the sonogram, he literally sat in the hospital chair and cried. From that moment on, I knew I did the right thing.
You have always been the glue that holds this family together. Whether it was the days you were with Nani and Nana, visiting for summers, baseball games and trips with your Mamaji and Mamiji, or early releases from school and getting picked up by your Maci, you always were the center of attention until your two little nephews came along… but you still hung on like a champ, and became the best cousin they could ask for. All the countless video games, trips to putt-putt, laser tag, baseball and hockey games, they just loved being with you… they were happy being in your presence, that was all they needed. All we used to hear was Mir Bya all day long.
I sit here and recollect on watching you grow, day by day, month by month, year by year. And each year made me sadder. Each year you became more grown, didn’t want to be bothered with doing all the fun things we used to do. I missed taking you and your friends to Laser Tag, how about all the Dave n Buster parties, or the summer overnight trips to Cedar Point and Kalahari… I sit back and look at how long you have been with the same friends. It hurts my heart because the same ones I watched you play football and deck hockey with, are the same friends that you walked across the stage with, and are now mourning your death.
I couldn’t have been prouder of you Ahmir. I know I was always the mean mom, pushing you to get high honor roll, I just wouldn’t have it any other way. Every year in high school, them grades always dipped to C average grades, so I would put you on punishment, take your phone, take your iPad, stalk Progress Book… I remember the one time you went snooping in my room while I was at work, looking for your iPad… and I came home from work and you fell asleep with the lights and tv on in your room, with the iPad on your lap that you found in one of my drawers and I remember how scared you were of me when I woke you up. Needless to say, you always got your grades up. I just want you to know that I pushed you hard the way I did, because I saw so much GREATNESS in you, when you didn’t even know you had it in you for yourself.
Every report card was my confirmation that I have one of the smartest kids in the world. You were able to graduate with high honors, I was letting you take some time off because COVID took over the world, and I wanted you to take time to figure things out for yourself. But now I feel to blame because I should have pushed you to pick up something, I should have pushed you to look at a couple colleges… maybe I shouldn’t have had you down the PiTT with me, but I was trying to keep you close… it’s the only place I felt was safe for us.
I remember the time you almost burned the house down overheating oodles n noodles in the microwave. I asked you how many commercials you watched before you noticed the microwave was about to explode, and you told me “ohhhhh just like 5 mommy?” Or how about the time you ran away from home in the middle of the summer, ninety degrees outside, and tried to even take Niko outside with you, following your little suitcase… I was driving behind you in the truck, creeping all slow, the cars kept going around me and looking at me like I was crazy, but if they only knew – JUST HOW MUCH I LOVED every bit of all these good and bad times. I remember when I got home with you that day, I opened your suitcase and all that was in it was a couple pair of boxers and t shirts, 4 water bottles, albuterol and Niko’s dog food. I still have that suitcase in the attic, it took me years to empty it.
You have always been my number one fan. All these years, I spent working so hard to make sure you had what you needed, anything your little heart desired, I am going to miss your texts of words of encouragement. I used to be so tired, juggling both jobs but still trying to be at every deck game or practice, asking friends for rides to and from, I remember how much you helped me with the PiTT. My dream became yours. You were my little wing man and now I feel so lost I don’t have you.
I sit back and can’t help but think that now that you are going to be in your final resting place soon, everyone is going to move on, just like how life is… my friends and family will be going back to work, and they will be able to go back to their regular life, back to their families, they are going to be able to go back to kissing their kids goodnight, wake up to kisses and hugs and morning cuddles, and then……… there’s ME. I feel like I lost the only good thing I had in my life. I lost my best friend. It hurts me to know that we got to the closest we ever been, and now you have just been RIPPED away from me. My whole heart is cold, empty, I find myself wondering if I will ever be able to find another love like yours in this lifetime…
I miss you so much, the texts between us, literally as you lay in your bed, and I lay in mine… I miss the goodnight and good morning messages, the purple heart emoji you used to send me, I miss the messages asking if I was okay when you knew I was home alone and you went to stay with your girlfriend… I miss texting you in the morning to ask what time you needed me to pick you up, I miss our countless trips to Hanini’s… I miss walking in your room to watch you playing Call of Duty on Xbox with your friends, I miss arguing with you about who is going to sleep with Niko, I miss going to dinner on Monday’s with you and Janet, I remember I was the first person to take you both for a pedicure. I am sorry I didn’t get to take you for your Driver’s License, I was so worried about the cold and snow, I feel like I let you down. I was about to sign you up for driving lessons, but everything became so hectic and work just got busy…
I remember you at the Pitt right next to me, every step of the way. I made sure you got to meet all the famous people I brought through, made sure you had pictures with all of them, you went from writing inventory, to prepping, to taking food orders, to running kitchen orders, to building rapport with all of our customers, you created friendships and bonds with everyone you came in contact with, and you ran that damn kitchen for me with Will. You wanted to get behind the bar and I was looking forward to taking you under my wing. But that also slipped through the cracks. I remember when you asked me if you could move off taking orders and try the fryer. And who would have known your chicken would have been as bomb as it is… but you just continued to grow right in front of me… I remember about an hour before you were MURDERED in front of OUR PiTT, you told me I had 30 days to get you off the fryer. I remember looking at you and turning my head to smile. It was one of the last things I heard you say to me.
Mir, I need your help baby. I am SO ANGRY inside, the last week I haven’t even felt like myself. I have thoughts in my head that I normally would never even entertain. I just want you back so bad. I would do anything. I play that night back in my head so much, what I wish I would have, could have, should have... I swear if I was outside that night, I would have taken that bullet with no question. I am so hurt… how could someone take something so precious from me… I still struggle with seeing you laying on the ground like that, all I could do is drop to my knees and pray… I was talking to you the whole time, I hope you heard me telling you I love you, and to hold on tight, I was going to fix you all up… it seemed like eternity waiting for that ambulance. When I saw them move you to the stretcher, I knew something wasn’t right. Your body was so lifeless. I remember the neurosurgeon came to me at the hospital, and told me they couldn’t do nothing for you, I wanted to literally kill somebody. I have never felt pain like that in my WHOLE ENTIRE LIFE, and I found myself questioning God that day.
I know you worked your magic once again though. You were able to hang on until you brought everything full circle for me once again. I always wished I had your courage, your carefree spirit, you never fell out with friends, everyone always came to you for advice, I often found myself questioning why I couldn’t be more like you… As you laid on the hospital bed, I watched you look so peaceful sleeping. I didn’t want to make you suffer anymore. One of the hardest decisions I ever had to make was taking you off the machines and medicines that were keeping your pretty little heart beating… I just was so torn, watching you look like you were sleeping so peaceful. But then knowing that bastard shot you in the back of your head, and you were braindead when you arrived at the hospital, how do you forgive something like that? Like how am I supposed to forgive a coward for taking your life in such a horrific way? As I type this, I am literally crying, crying for help, crying for strength, praying for understanding, demanding justice for you Mir.
I want you to know that you are the best baby any mother could ever ask for, I watched you grow into the little man you were becoming; always wanting to protect me, you made sure I ate, you made sure on days I couldn’t get myself out of my bed, you were the one who came in and spoke some life into me. I am going to miss everything about you… the way you wiggle your toes playing video games, the way you play with your little curly tendrils on your head.
I am going to miss walking into your room and telling you to take all the dirty dishes downstairs, saying Ahmir can you please clean up your bathroom, coming out of the shower and seeing you brought my clean laundry upstairs… its eating me up on the inside that I will never see you get married, never have grandchildren, and all the while I look at everyone else and nothing stops for them. I feel selfish when I think of those things, I feel so alone. I am scared to sit in the house, I fear losing myself and crawling into a black hole. Before you left, I want you to know that you reunited me with friends and loved ones that I never thought I would be around again, but that’s what you did Bubs… you were the glue that held me together, and now I am so heartbroken you aren’t here to see what you have done. I keep looking around the house for signs that you are still present, and there have been some days I feel like I didn’t feel you. I slept in your bed and cried myself to sleep, touching and smelling your pillows. Walking out of that hospital that day with nothing but your pinky fingerprint and heartbeat literally rips me apart.
I am sorry I didn’t protect you, I feel like I let you down, I think everyone is trying not to blame themselves… this is so hard, so so so so so hard… I walk around the house and see so much of the memories we have shared and I just wish I could touch you one more time, hold you one more time, tell you I am sorry if you ever felt I was doing too much, I question me being a good mother, like what did I do to deserve this? I want to just scream and kick and cry. I keep watching your videos to keep your spirit alive.
I want you to know that your vigil was just everything to me – the amount of love and support that poured in from each and every person you ever touched, and even people that never met you before… it just let me know that I did one hell of a job and I had THE BEST kid. I am trying to make sure I send you out like the King you are, I hope you enjoy seeing us all together, I promised myself that I didn’t care how much everything cost, money will never be an issue, when it comes to showing the world how much I love you and will be with you forever and ever and ever. Ahmir, please keep me safe, watch from up above and all I ask is that when you see me or feel me get weak, please wrap your wings around me and let me know that you are going to be okay. I look forward to the day I am called home just so I can be with you again, and I promise we will pick up right where we left off – my homie, my son, my best friend, my everything – your Momma Bear is right here, trying to stay strong. I love you.
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