Monday, September 1, 2008

Matt Boeer

I have actually contemplated writing this blog... gone back and forth about including it... but since I can't stop thinking about it, I am going to.

Today we went to the funeral of one of our former students, Matt Boeer. He lost his battle with leukemia on Saturday morning. His wife, Erin, was also a former student. It was a very painful thing to watch young people (Matt was 25) mourn the loss of their friend/relative/spouse. It was really hard to watch his mom, dad, and sister say good bye to their son. I can not even describe to you what I felt as I watched a beautiful, young widower coming down a church aisle to mourn with others over the loss of her husband. Yes, we celebrate his life, but it was hard.

When Matt was in 8th grade, he and Russell Schmidt were the "hot shot" euphonium players in the junior high band and I taught the 6th grade low brass class. One day, I used his euphonium. After school, this wiry little kid came in and said to me "When I use my euphonium, I like to wipe the fingerprints off with my polishing cloth so that it looks new. I am going to leave that cloth in my case where you can find it... in case you want to wipe off your fingerprints when you are done." There was something so sweet about it. Matt-- the world will miss you. Erin-- we embrace you.
We are all good. Hope you are well. Hug someone you love!
K

2 comments:

Shelby said...

I'm glad you wrote this, even though it made me cry again. I'm so glad you were there with me today, i'm lucky to have you!

Debi said...

Thank you for sharing...I only learned this morning about Matt's death, and being so far away, this little chance encounter gives me a way to share, too, the joy of his life and the pain in his passing. I knew Matt's mother in high school; we reconnected just before his diagnosis. I feel fortunate to have gotten to meet Matt. Although our meeting was brief, it was immediately clear he was an amazing young man. His passing is a loss for us all.
Debi