Twelve years after Angel White lost her child’s father, she lost their teenage son in the same manner. Cortez Lemon Jr., 14, was fatally stabbed in the chest on a MTA bus in mid-July.

In the two weeks since Lemon was killed on July 10, multiple vigils have been held to remember him. His fatal stabbing came during an encounter with an 18-year-old on a bus in the 4200 block of Frankford Avenue, Baltimore Police said.

Police have arrested and charged Brandon Lee Adams Jr. in the fatal stabbing, authorities said. Adams is charged with first- and second-degree murder and related charges, and was being held without bond, according to online court records.

In remembering Lemon, community members spoke of a caring, outgoing and generous young man. Many of them said he had the power to make people feel special and wanted to take care of everyone around him. “He had a generous heart, outgoing spirit, and a goofy sense of humor,” his mother said.

Family members, friends and school staff gathered at Leith Walk Elementary Middle School — which Lemon had attended since age 5 — to celebrate his life on Monday. They all blew bubbles to remember the kid they used to call “Bubbles.”

Whenever Lemon hit someone while playing football, people said, he would make bubbles come out of the other player’s nose.

White said it was difficult enough to watch her son grow up without his father, Cortez Alonzo Lemon Sr., who died from multiple stab wounds to the chest and abdomen. That they died the same way is all the more painful.

“I think my son struggled with trying to figure out what kind of man he wanted to be in this world, and I feel like it was because he lost his father at the very tender age of 2,” White said. “He had his father’s name and he was stabbed to death like his dad.”

“I’m definitely devastated and hurt,” she said.

Lemon was eager to provide for his family and had plans for how to do it. By the time he turned 25, his aunt Latoya Jackson recalled him saying, he wanted to own his own bank called TEZ Bank: “Too Easy” to bank with.

He knew he could make it happen, she said, it was just a matter of time.

“Just you wait,” he told Jackson.

As guests stood in a circle at the school entrance Monday evening, some of Lemon’s friends huddled around each other. Though they were mostly quiet, they all had the fidgety energy of boys their age, never quite standing still.

Moving around the vigil together, some had arms around each other’s shoulders and reminisced about their friend.

“I always had his back and he always had mine,” said one friend, speaking in front of the other attendees.

“If it wasn’t for him, I’d still be doing things I shouldn’t have been doing,” said another.

He loved and had a special bond with his mother, according to Jackson. They both enjoyed cooking and had dance competitions to see who could pull the best moves. He also encouraged and protected his younger sisters, ages 12 and 8.

Lemon played offensive line and wide receiver on Leith Walk’s flag football team and in other area youth football organizations, said Aaron Sedgewick Jr., one of his longtime football coaches.

Known as Coach Ace to the Eastside Raiders, Sedgewick coached Lemon on multiple teams and considered him one of his “young guys” — almost like a son.

”He had more than enough potential to make it to college on a football scholarship,” Sedgewick said. “He was a hard-hitting and well-disciplined all-around [player]. I had even been talking with coaches at Patterson, Towson and Northern high schools because there was no question that he would’ve done well playing those schools.”

He also rapped and recorded his own songs, which he loved playing back. “His favorite artist was probably himself,” said Tyrone Bowen, his stepfather.

Family members said he was becoming a pretty good cook. His mother taught him how to season chicken. His aunt says Lemon had perfected the bacon, egg and cheese sandwich, often getting creative with his seasonings. “He even put curry seasoning on the bacon once!” she said.

White, Lemon’s mom, said she knows her son did nothing to provoke the teen who killed him.

In addition to the murder charges, Adams is charged with first- and second-degree assault in Lemon’s death. Adams’ attorney, Shoba Kadavil with the Maryland Public Defender’s Office, did not respond to a request for comment.

“None of this was meant for my child,” White said. “And I don’t think it was meant for anybody else’s child either, but definitely not my son.”