I am very privileged to be the mom lucky enough to have Cade as my son for 15 years. He was a handsome young man who liked playing football and loved playing the violin. He was active in our church and working towards his Eagle award in scouting before he returned to his heavenly home. He was an amazing young man who had a smile for everyone he met. He was kind hearted and compassionate. The best way to sum up with Cade is with a story that was shared with me after his passing. A friend observed this while she was waiting to pick up her kids from school.

The afternoon bell rang signaling the end of the school day, and all the kids were anxious to be on their way home. Cade walked out the door with a bunch of his 6th grade friends, laughing and joking and having a good time. Along came a gust of wind, blowing all of the papers out of one of the first grader’s hands. Most of the older kids were laughing at and making of fun of the little boy, who started to cry. Cade left the group of kids he was with, knelt down and helped him retrieve his papers and made sure they were safely in his backpack. Then he patted him on the shoulder and ran off to catch up to his friends.

That was Cade. He always looked out for the underdog. A girl came up to me at his funeral and said, “I don’t know what I will do without him, he was my only friend.”

Being able to donate was an easy decision to make and brought me great comfort. That was Cade, helping others in life and even with his death.