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ISHPEMING --

It's called “My Best Days.” The eighth grade class at Ishpeming Middle School has been hard at work rehearsing this tribute song, which they'll sing at classmate Christopher Croley's funeral. “Bubba,” as he was better known, was killed by a drunk driver in Middle Inlet, in Marinette County, Wisconsin on Friday.

Bubba’s fourteenth birthday was just two days later.

“I was really devastated,” explains friend Marissa Mino. “I kind of went into shock almost. I didn't know what to think."

School friends shared their thoughts about Bubba.

“We all loved Bubba and we'll never forget him,” says Khora Swanson. “He was amazing."

It's never easy to say goodbye. It's just one of many messages students have written in a classroom chalkboard.

Bubba's best friend, Mitch Uhl, was especially shocked at the news.

“My friend Griffin texted me and he said, ‘Did you hear that Bubba had passed away in a car accident?’ And I said no," explains Uhl.

He says he was with Bubba at a football game just hours before the crash.    

“Bubba was a really good friend,” says Alyssa Palomaki. “He could make anyone smile no matter what mood you were in. He just brightened up the classroom. He brought enthusiasm anywhere he went."

“I don't think there's ever going to be a person who cheers me up as much as him,” Uhl added.

Friends say they plan on getting together every year and sharing memories about Bubba, who would’ve turned 14. Instead, he’ll live on in their hearts...forever 13.

There will be a public visitation from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday and from 9:30 a.m. to noon Friday. Bubba's funeral mass will be held Friday at noon at St. Joseph Catholic Church in Ishpeming.