Naperville Pizza Joint Honors Teen Suicide Victim

CHICAGO (CBS)—Like most teens growing up in the suburbs, Isaac Pedley loved pizza.

Pedley, a student at Naperville North High School, may have loved hanging out at the place that served up his favorite pie more than he loved the food itself.

"I would joke that he ate dinner (at MOD) more than he did at home," said his mom, Jennifer Pedley.

More than a year after Pedley died from suicide, it's still hard for Jennifer to understand why her son took his own life.

After his death in April 2017, Jennifer wrote a letter to the pizza chain's corporate headquarters to tell them how much MOD's Naperville location meant to her son.

"Isaac was buried in a MOD t-shirt," she said. "He loved it here."

Now the nationwide chain, which has 355 locations across the U.S., is honoring the pizza-loving teenager with the "Isaac Pizza," in memory of its favorite customer.

The chain has also donated $50,000 to the JED, or the Jed Foundation—a charity created by Donna and Phil Satow in memory of their young son as a way to encourage open dialogue about mental health at high school and college campuses.

Aside from the money going to a good cause her family can relate to, Jennifer said she'd like to see the "Isaac Pizza" generate a national conversation about suicide.

Manager Eric Kowalski and his team at Naperville's MOD Pizza made Isaac feel like he could be himself, Jennifer said.

"Hopefully we create a culture where people can reach out and people can work through problems and issues where this doesn't happen again," Kowalski said.

Pedley seemed to be a regular teen growing up in a nice Chicago suburb. He was on the wrestling team and enjoyed playing with his dog and hanging out with friends.

He was taking medication to treat anxiety, but Pedley says he was outgoing and usually seemed happy.

He had skipped school the day he died. When his parents returned home, he had hanged himself in the garage.

It's easy to understand why Jennifer struggled to find words for why Isaac may have decided to take his own life.

"It's devastating," Jennifer said. "We'll be ok, but we'll never be the same."

Jennifer has found some solace in helping other parents of suicide victims cope with the tremendous loss that only someone in her shoes can comprehend.

Her number one lesson: don't be afraid to talk to your children about suicide.

"I wish I had said to him, 'if there's a time when you're feeling hopeless (and) you want to hurt yourself, who would you call and what would want them to say to you,'" Jennifer said.

MOD's Pizza locations across the U.S. began serving up the "Isaac Pizza" on Tuesday.

"We'll miss him," Jennifer said. "For the rest of my life on the earth I will think about him."