After 17-Year-Old Petey Jones' Parents and Sister Died, His High School Football Coach Gave Him a Home (Exclusive)

Mar. 15, 2025

Petey Jones (top left) with Caitlin Dates, Ryan Holdren and their son Everett.Photo:Kristin Brown

Kristin Brown

Without hesitation Holdren, then working as a middle school social studies teacher and assistant football coach, texted the ninth grader — whom he’d spent the past two years driving home each evening after practice — with a simple message.

“Hey, I know you got a lot going on,” he wrote, “but if you ever need it, you’re always welcome to come stay with me.” Several weeks later Jones, a football standout and honors student despite his string of personal tragedies, took Holdren up on his heartfelt offer and has been living with him and his wife, Caitlin Dates, ever since.

Petey Jones with his late sister, Maronique Sanders in 2013.Courtesy Jones Family

Courtesy Jones Family

“We just wanted to give him something consistent,” says Holdren, 35, who is now Jones’s legal guardian. “We wanted to provide him with a place where he felt safe, somewhere he could grow up.”

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

Petey Jones with his late dad Randolph Jones Jr. (left) and grandfather Randolph Jones Sr. (right) in 2013.Courtesy Jones Family

Jones, 17, calls it the “bad times” and says Holdren and Dates’s presence in his life made a major difference.

“They were there for me no matter what, letting me know that I’ll always have a place to call home,” he says. “They’re two angels.”

When Jones first entered Holdren’s life in 2017, their focus was football. The seventh grader—who had only recently lost his dad — wanted to play on the school team but didn’t have a ride home. Holdren told Jones “not to worry” and soon began driving the boy each evening, while Dates, at the time a kindergarten teacher and Holdren’s then girlfriend, would often join them for dinner.

“We spent a lot of quality time together,” says Holdren of a friendship that quickly deepened. “He’s such an awesome kid.”

For more on Petey Jones and the Holdren family, pick up this week’s issue of PEOPLE, on newsstands now.

The decision to bring Jones into their lives — and Holdren’s choice tobecome his legal guardianin 2021, with the blessing of Jones’s remaining biological family — was momentous, but it was also surprisingly easy to make.

“We never really even had a conversation about it,” says Dates, 34. “Maybe it was silly of us not to talk about the logistics and all that was involved, but we both just felt like we were doing the right thing.”

(L-R) Everett Holdren, Caitlin Dates, Ryan Holdren and Petey Jones.Kristin Brown

Of course, there were adjustments. “I learned pretty quickly that he needed more structure,” says Holdren. “There were a lot of messy rooms and eating in the bedroom.”

But Jones has shown “remarkable” perseverance and personal drive, Holdren says. When he’s not tutoring first graders or working at the mall, the teen — who wants to become a nurse if his NFL dreams don’t materialize — can be found doting on Holdren and Dates’s son Everett, who just turned 1.

“Whenever he comes home from school,” Dates says, “Everett gets a huge smile on his face.”

These days Jones is busy sifting through the stack of college acceptances (13 at last count) that he’s received in recent months. His journey, from a shell-shocked, grieving boy who was once afraid of the dark to a confident young man, has been rewarding to watch, Holdren says.

“Petey’s really an inspiration. To know what he’s been through and what he’s done for himself is incredible. I’ve got nothing but confidence for his future.”

source: people.com