November 5, 2011
Grace Church, Providence, RI
“When you part from your friend, you grieve not; for that which you love most in him may be clearer in his absence, as the mountain to the climber is clearer from the plain. And let there be no purpose in friendship [but] the deepening of the spirit” —Kahlil Gibran
Evan was my best friend. I shed tears of sorrow the day I got the message that he was sick, and my heart has wept since. But today my tears of sorrow and pain have dried; the tears I weep today are tears of love.
I met Evan when he came to Gordon school in 6th grade. We had the same homeroom and were the only boys- we immediately became friends. There was something about him that just made him cool; when everyone else was trying to act grown up and wear clothes like upper classman, Evan just wore a white t shirt and jeans to school. He was just cool, and everyone liked him- he immediately became the most popular kid in our class. Throughout middle school, it was Terry Joe, Evan and Ben, we would sleep over at Terry’s and play Grand Theft Auto and watch wrestling till the sun came up- Terry had the best wrestling movies.
When I came to Moses Brown for high school I knew that Evan would be there with me. For Evan, he was reunited with Liam, and he became one of my best friends as well. Terry and Joe came with us to Moses brown but we had no idea that we would meet the best friends we could ever imagine- Hillary, Johnny, Tom, Conal, Nate, John, Mike, and Prahbat- all became our brothers.
There are the moments our friends will always remembers about Evan- the night after Roses in the Snow, 50 yard line meetings after winning football games, Senior Prank and more. But the moments I’ll remember most are the one that you almost forget-the nights Evan and I would just listen to Westly Willis songs, or watch a football game, a movie, or just play video games in his basement. Those are the moments in time I will hold closest to me.
People might remember Evan as quiet, but he was anything but. He might have said the least, but he commanded the most attention. He let his actions speak.
He was more than a friend, he was a brother. He was my brother-
I could tell Evan anything and he would listen.
We did everything together, I truly looked up to him.
In his life he gave me so much, his laugh and smile, his humor which was completely original, the way he made everything look easy, and above all he was someone I could always rely on.
In his death he is leaving me with one final gift.
In his death, Evan’s gift to me has been his life, with deep pain I accept his gift. It is the final gift we leave with the ones who loved us most. This gift is not mine alone but a gift to all of us, the gift to have lived.
Everyday I will hold his gift in my heart, and cherish his life. He was my best friend, my brother, and I will always love him.