Isa Wilde was a student at Cleveland High School his freshman year and through the first semester of his sophomore year. He would have been a junior this year, but he passed away on Aug. 10, 2023 from an overdose on fentanyl. Now at the half anniversary of his passing, Isa continues to be missed by many family and friends.

Friends held a memorial on Sept. 21, 2023, at Sellwood Riverfront Park. They created signs and hung them up in a cove of trees on the beach by the river. The signs were cut down during a party down by the river by someone under the influence of alcohol, and will be put back up to accompany the newer and official sign remembering Isa. Windchimes and flowers were also added to recognize his memory. In memorial, the school administration sent out an email to parents at the beginning of school to share the news, but did not send an email to students directly.

Isa was a light to the people he was around and could change someone’s mood instantly. He was known for being social, but was also very talented with many instruments. Growing up with a natural skill for music, he could understand rhythms and harmonies very easily and his talent moved him from Beaverton to Southeast Portland where he attended Da Vinci Middle School.

Sefana Wilde, Isa’s mother said, “When I first realized that he was amazing at music was at four or five. We went to watch a movie and it had some music in it and afterward, he was humming this complex song and I was so amazed he memorized it that quickly.”
Enrolled in Jazz Lab and Symphonic Band at Cleveland, he picked up many more instruments through band practice. He practiced drums in school, though he mostly loved piano and guitar, with which he was constantly impressing his close friends.

“He seemed like a guy that was just so social, and then he just sat down and he could do all this crazy stuff on a piano,” said Sammy Bernstein, one of his close friends.

During freshman year, Isa sometimes wore a purple top hat, wearing it in the halls and tipping it like a fedora. This helped to solidify his outward persona as a fun guy with an independent style. “I remember him like a total goofball with this awesome hat,” said junior Oliver Medley.

To many around Isa, he was a funny person, but to those closest to him, he was caring and had serious passions. Frances Clark, Isa’s partner, said, “He was always fun, always silly, but at his core a nice person and very gentle and very delicate.” Isa had always been a sensitive person and kept it close to him, and instead showed a more outgoing and positive persona. He was much more sensitive around those he was closest to, and could often be serious.

At the time of Isa’s passing, Clark explained, “He got a job, he was working as a camp counselor. Every day of the week, he would get up in the morning, go to work at 8:30 a.m., get off at one, and then come back and hang out with me and other people sometimes. He was going to go to PCC for the GED program. The night that he died he was working on his English writing sample. He never got to turn 16.”

In another story, Wilde’s mom, Sefana said, “He always came home with trash in his pockets (in middle school), and when I asked him why, he burst into tears crying, and said that he feels really bad for the things people throw away and nobody cares about.” His sensitivity made him very special to those closest to him and he was a wonderful person, his friends said.

Many of Isa’s friends and his mom still honor and think about him. Ethan Daley, a junior at Cleveland and a friend of Isa since his days at Da Vinci said, “I don’t think we should stop talking about him. Isa was a wonderful guy and I think there’s a million stories that should be told.”

Isa Wilde is important to continue honoring in the Cleveland community, have more discussion, and remember who he was. He was a deeply caring, funny, and talented person. He will always be remembered in the hearts of many and had an impact on so many people in Cleveland.