Note Regarding Order of Entries

The posts in the pages that follow are in this order:

May 2012: CAS Graduation—Kyle Harty Strang Spirit of CAS Award
May 2011: CAS Graduation—Kyle's loyal and loving CAS-mates move up.
March 2011: Two incredible articles that appeared in local newspapers
November: Lyrics of a beautiful song written for Kyle by Sarah Crews
July: Things shared on and around the 17th anniversary of Kyle's birth
June: Snippets of Facebook interchanges, end of school year pieces, and other things written to Kyle
May: CAS Memorial and misc. contributions received in May (in the order the comments were made)
April: Kyle's funeral and misc. contributions received in April (in the order the comments were made)
March 2010: Before Kyle's funeral and information about where to make donations in Kyle's memory

Because postings do not appear in the order they were posted, you will have to check the listing in the Blog Archive below to see whether there are posts you have not read, and then click on those posts.

If you made comments at one of the memorial events and/or if you have words about Kyle that you would like to post, send to: jbarber@berkeley.edu

Followers

Sunday, July 4, 2010

Letter from Beebe Sanders Written April 6, 2010 in Mr. Knight's Art Class, Delivered to Kyle's Family on July 3, 2010

Dear Kyle’s Family,

            I’m not sure if you know me or if Kyle said anything about me, but my name is Beebe Sanders. Kyle and I became very close this school year because we had art class together. I went to King with him, but I didn’t know him very well until this past year. First, I just want to tell you that Kyle had a great heart. During this year, Kyle helped me through some of the hardest things I’ve ever been through. Every day we would talk about our lives and tell each other stories. I looked forward to coming to class so that Kyle and I could work on our art (that Kyle seemed to avoid as much as possible) and laugh together. As you already know, Kyle had strong opinions, so of course we would get into debates all the time. One time we just got so pissed off at each other off of a debate that we left the class steaming mad, but we apologized quickly because we knew we couldn’t let that get in the way of our friendship. Most of our days were happy, though, and filled with jokes and funny stories. We started going to lunch every week, and had a blast in his new car that he was so obsessed with. I am an only child, so he became like a brother to me. He tried to call me his younger sister, but I’m older than him so that didn’t last long. I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but you had a truly great son. He was such a loving guy and made me smile every day. I will always remember our walks to 5th period, and our hugs goodbye when we parted, I just never thought our hug on the Friday before Break would be our last one. It hurt me so deeply that such an amazing friend and caring boy had to die so young. He had great dreams that I wish I could’ve seen him pursue (besides the wanting to go to Israel and join the army, which I tried to talk him out of almost every day.

            I’m sitting in art class right now writing this, wishing that his gorgeous eyes were across from mine, like they were every day. I wish I could hear his complaints about how he didn’t like to draw and about how he wanted me to go with him to Starbucks instead. He really wasn’t a bad drawer and had a lot of potential.

Your son has truly touched me and made an everlasting impression. He will always be my brother and I will always be his sister. You had an amazing son, and I’m so sorry for your loss. But know that he has been an important factor in many people’s lives and that he will always be remembered. He made great memories with people and he will ALWAYS be remembered by everyone. I know he is in a great place now with Prentice. I’m so glad they are together, and I know they both want us to smile and remember the good times they shared with us.

Kyle always wanted me to be happy and not let things get to me too much because he knew times would get better, and they did. Now I have new things to worry about, but I will always keep Kyle’s voice in my mind and his soft eyes telling me to keep my head up because he is up there watching me. I hope all of you are thinking of the good time you had with Kyle and are celebrating the life he had because I know he enjoyed his short but sweet life. I wish you all the best in recovery and I know his is loving you guys as much as always. You raised a great boy and he will be in our hearts forever. I send my love and my prayers to all of Kyle’s family, and I’ll miss him, too.

 Lots of love,

 Beebe

No comments:

Post a Comment