Dylan Graham loved everything about motorcycles.
“It was in his blood,” his older brother Mason said. “He never smiled like he did when he was on a motorcycle.”
His father, John, recalled the time when the family got a three-year-old Dylan a battery-operated bike that went all around their Loudon home. “Motorcycle” left his mouth more than most other words as a kid, Dylan’s mom, Jennifer, said.
In the spirit of his deep love for bikes, over 100 motorists revved their engines from Pembroke to Loudon to honor the 18-year-old’s life.
“He would have been laughing,” his mother said. “We only put the word up [on Thursday] and all of those guys showed up. It was amazing.”
Dylan died on the evening of Aug. 11 after a collision with a van on Bear Hill Road in Chichester. His funeral was held on Friday at Roan Funeral Home in Pembroke, followed by a parade of bikes riding to Loudon Ridge Cemetery.
“Some were his friends, but a lot of people we never even met, and they just rallied around,” Jennifer Ward Graham said. “It really meant the world to us.”
After the ride — which included hundreds of motorcycles and cars that spanned half a mile down the street — the interment took place in the back of the cemetery, where tall trees cast long shadows on the attendees.
Jennifer, John, Mason and other family members sat in front of a casket adorned with several bouquets of white and red roses. A pastor gave a prayer and words of comfort to the crowd of family and friends close to Dylan.
At the end, the song “Before I close my eyes” played over the speakers by the rapper XXXTENTACION, who died at the age of 20. Attendees gave hugs and whispered condolences to each sitting family member.
A friend who graduated from Loudon Elementary School with Dylan laid a shirt on the casket with the help of Jennifer. The graduation year, 2017, was printed in bubble font and held dozens of signatures, including those of Dylan and his friend.
Dylan was born in Long Island on Sept. 15, 2006, but shortly moved with his family to Loudon. He was a 2024 graduate of CSI Charter School in Concord.
Mason remembered his younger brother as someone he could always rely on.
“He was the only person I could truly be myself around; he really understood me,” Mason said. “He was the kind of person that would never judge you for anything, no matter what it was. He would just love you unconditionally.”
Jennifer said Dylan struggled with depression, but still found the time to help other people who were also in dark places.
“He was always a shoulder for anyone who needed it,” Jennifer said. “A couple of people from his middle school came and said, ‘I was going through a really rough time and Dylan really helped me and made so much impact on my life.’”
Dylan was known as “the dark rider” by some because of his signature 2015 Raven Edition Yamaha R6. Family, friends and fellow bike riders said he will be remembered for the kindness he spread to others and the sound of motorcycles throughout New Hampshire.
“We knew he would get a good kick out of everybody coming,” Jennifer said. “He just loved the rev of the engines. That’s what he loved to do.”