By Matthew McLaughlin

When school was over and the summer began, Nicholas Peters and David Martini would spend countless hours at Kelly Park playing stickball. Their lives were tragically cut short, but their memories live on at a memorial stickball tournament this Saturday.

Shayna Peters, Nick’s sister, said she wanted to remember her brother and close friend not how they died, but rather how they lived, enjoying the everyday life of the city they loved.

“I hope it can bring the community together for something other than a funeral or a wake,” she said.

The day will also feature a street dedication. The corner of Summer and Craige streets will be named Spc. Nicholas Peters square. Peters, a former Army soldier and veteran of the war in Iraq, died Sept. 15. Shayna Peters said her brother loved playing stickball with his Kelly Park friends and enjoyed playing during his brief vacations home, including his final visit. He even played softball while serving in Iraq.

“He played every time he was home,” she said. “The last time he was home from Iraq they were playing stickball.”

Shayna Peters was also a close family friend to Martini, who also played hockey for Somerville High School with Nick Peters. Martini died March 2004. The two families were so close that for years Shayna believed Martini to be her cousin.

‚ÄúI grew up calling Dave my cousin,‚Äù she said. ‚ÄúI was ten years old when I found out he wasn’t my real cousin. Their family is our family.‚Äù

Shayna said it was important for the event to be at Kelly Park, where many Somerville youth gathered over the years, and several sadly died too early. Since 2001, a series of overdoses, suicides and murders plagued the city, with many of the deaths occurring to the Kelly Park community. Five hockey players, including Peters and Martini, died, as well as Matthew O’Brien, who died at age 16. A plaque at Kelly Park remembers O’Brien. Nearby is a makeshift memorial with farewells written in markers alongside melted candles for Peters and Brian Libertore, another hockey player who died young.

‚ÄúA lot of the Kelly Park boys passed away so we said we have to do this at Kelly Park,‚Äù she said. ‚ÄúWe’re doing this not just for Nick and Dave, but to remember all the boys who have passed away.‚Äù

Sign ups for the stickball tournament are still available. Registration for players age 15 and under will be at 8:30 a.m. unless previously registered. The first game will begin at 9 a.m. There will be an intermission at 10 a.m. for the street dedication. Proceeds from the tournament will go towards a scholarship in Peters and Martini’s names.