Tomorrow afternoon, the Job Corps in Lincoln-Lemington will dedicate a renovated dorm building as Evans Hall in honor of Christopher Evans, a 20-year-old student from Texas gunned down last year in a robbery near the East Busway in Homewood.

"He loved your city; he planned to live there," said Christopher's father, William Evans, 51, a Dallas County probation officer. "We're sorry that he lost his life there, but we're so happy with the Job Corps and your city for honoring him."

The ceremony had been planned to coincide with the opening of the trial Monday for the accused gunman, 16-year-old Lester Jackson.

That won't happen now because, as is often the case, the trial has been postponed by last-minute court developments on Thursday.

But Mr. Evans and his wife, Pansy, 51, who intended to spend the week here for the trial and the ceremony, will still make the trip for the 4 p.m. dedication in the Job Corps gym.

The Evans family has taken some solace in the realization that Christopher's death has touched a lot of people, here and across the country.

In a nation numbed by street violence, homicide cases are quickly forgotten, often because the victims are themselves mixed up in crime.

But Christopher was a relative rarity: the truly innocent victim.

His parents and his 12-year-old sister, Christina, have drawn on their faith as Seventh-day Adventists and the goodwill of strangers to help them endure the pain of his death.

"There's nothing worse than losing a child," said Mr. Evans. "The outpouring of sympathy has been overwhelming."

Six people have received his son's organs through the organ donor program, several of whom have written the family to thank them for the gift. Christopher's corneas went to recipients in Texas and New Jersey; others received his tissue.

"I was fortunate enough to get a bone graft when I needed it because of caring people like you," wrote one.

Dozens of Pittsburghers have also sent letters to express sympathy -- and outrage.

"As a resident of Pittsburgh, I will apologize for the thugs who cowardly took your precious son," wrote one. "They embarrass all of us, a city of mostly caring citizens."

The Evans family has received nearly 100 such letters.

"These are people we don't even know," said Mrs. Evans, a teacher. "I saved them all."

Several letters came from Port Authority bus drivers.

"The first time I drove him he made me laugh," wrote the driver of the 74A. "I have a habit of calling everyone honey. He got off my bus the first time and said, 'Wow, you call everybody honey,' and I told him it was a habit of mine. He said, 'I think that's nice.' From that day on he would get on my bus and say real loud, 'Honey,' and I would laugh."

The Job Corps ceremony isn't the first tribute for Christopher.

The center planted a dogwood tree in his honor on the campus in the spring, and officials have also established a scholarship fund in his name for students who want to enter a four-year college program.

Christopher was studying graphic arts at the Community College of Allegheny County and hoped to one day work in satellite imagery for the U.S. government.

He hadn't always had a strong sense of direction growing up, but the Job Corps and his family said his life had focus since he came to Pittsburgh.

Mr. Evans said he and his wife have found sympathy in unexpected places. After returning from a cruise in Puerto Rico, they happened to run into some Pittsburghers in San Juan who had been on a different ship.

Mr. Evans asked them if they'd heard of Chris Evans.

"That's the Job Corps kid," they said. "We read about it in the newspaper."

"That's my son," said Mr. Evans.

"Man," said the strangers, "we're so sorry for you."

Born and raised in Dallas, Christopher decided to join the Job Corps after high school because he saw it as an opportunity. Run by the U.S. Department of Labor, Job Corps provides free education and vocational training for people ages 16 to 24.

Christopher attended programs in Arkansas and Oklahoma before leaving for Pittsburgh in 2006. Although he had a sense of fun and loved to travel, he was known on campus as quiet and respectful. On the day he died, he had asked permission to leave the center to visit his grandparents in Ohio, where his father had grown up.

He enjoyed his new city, particularly services at Hillcrest Seventh Day Adventist Church in the Hill District, which held a memorial for him after his death.

He was never afraid to go anywhere -- even when he probably should have been. He was the first Job Corps student here to be murdered.

"It really affected a lot of the students here," said Dottie Sweeney, business community administrator. "We do try to tell them that there are areas of Pittsburgh that they should stay away from."

As he did almost every night, Christopher called home at about 10:30 p.m. on Oct. 23 as he prepared to head back to his dorm after studying at the CCAC library. As always, he told his father, "I love you" before he hung up.

A half-hour later he was dead on the sidewalk on North Homewood Avenue, shot in the back.

Prosecutors say Lester Jackson, then 15 and on probation from a prior offense, was among five teens described by Police Lt. Daniel Herrmann as "thugs" who were robbing people near the busway to get money for marijuana.

The other four -- William Fields, Scott Donofrio, LeRon Brown and Maurice Collins -- are expected to testify against Mr. Jackson.

Another witness is Mark Bullitt, 23, another Job Corps student who got off the bus with Christopher at about 11 p.m. and said he saw a group of black males in hoodies hanging around the steps leading from the busway to North Homewood.

Two of them pulled guns and robbed Mr. Bullitt of his cell phone and wallet. The other teens identified the gunmen as Mr. Collins and Mr. Jackson.

A few seconds after robbing Mr. Bullitt, police said, Mr. Jackson accosted Christopher, who tried to pull away and run. Mr. Jackson shot him in the back, prosecutors said.

Christopher ran down the street and collapsed in front of 524 North Homewood, a church.

Mr. Bullitt ran to his mother's house and called 911.

After the robbery, Maurice Collins gave Mr. Donofrio and Mr. Fields $5 each from the money taken from Mr. Bullitt, according to police affidavits.

Police arrested Lester Jackson at a house in Penn Hills about two weeks later.

The district attorney's office wants to try him as an adult, but a hearing has to be held first to determine if he will be. That hearing was to take place Thursday but ended up postponed, probably until January.

Mr. Jackson's lawyer, Mark Lancaster, who is trying to get his client decertified as a juvenile, didn't return a message this week.

As a probation officer, Mr. Evans understands court delays. Although he wants Lester Jackson to be executed, he tries not to let anger consume him.

"I'm going to let the criminal justice system run its course," he said.

He and his family find themselves torn between grief and gratitude.

There are images they can never forget, such as the moment during the funeral service in Texas when Christina placed a stuffed teddy bear in her big brother's casket next to his body.

"It was special to her," said Mr. Evans. "And we put it under his arms."

They also won't forget the messages of kindness from a city 1,000 miles away.

Like this one:

"I didn't know your son personally but something about him touched my heart and made me want to pray for both of you. ... I just wanted to tell you that Pittsburgh is not such a horrible place to live. Those young men that so willingly took your son's life, I apologize to you for them and I pray for them and their families, too. There are nice people here who do care, love and respect others."