Stories: Forever in our Hearts

Ryan Duane Howard was born June 14, 1994, in Elizabeth City, North Carolina near Norfolk where his father was stationed in the Navy. When Ryan was two years old the family moved back home to Colorado. He attended grades K-12 in Highlands Ranch and graduated from Rock Canyon High School, Class of 2013. He participated in sports during his youth but football was his favorite. Ryan spent a lot of his young life visiting his Grandma and Grandpa, as well as many cousins, in Longmont. Ryan loved anyth... see more

On September 7th, 1989, Ryan Horton was born to Cris and Debbie Horton. At that time they could have never imagined the memories that could be built and what a life of only 25 years could accomplish. Only 25 years to become a man of wisdom befitting a man of many more years. He was always so amazing to us, but we were his parents. Surely his friends and others in his life saw him as just another man trying to make his way in life. Sure, God had granted him musical talents, intelligence, i... see more

Ironically on Ryan's favorite day of the year, St Patrick's Day is the day he left this world; only 3 days following his 30th birthday. Ryan wasn't irish although his hair was the color of a "new penny" as his grandma used to say. He was irish by osmosis. After high school Ryan became a firefighter and EMT for California Division of Forestry. When the economy took a tumble, so did his job and he started working as a machinist in his home town of Paso Robles, CA. He was so loved by everyone.... see more

Ryan Matthew Sherwood was born on September 9, 1985 along with his twin brother. Although we did not know it at the time his name was chosen, “Ryan,” in fact means “little king.” This was a perfect name for Ryan because from infancy he determinedly did things his own way on his own time schedule. ... see more

In the all-too-short twenty-six years of Ryan’s life, he developed an impressive work ethic and consequently achieved much recognition. He was a gifted athlete, playing football, basketball, and baseball throughout high school. He excelled most in basketball, which he continued on the varsity level during his four years at Dickinson College. He was a disciplined player and a selfless team member. But his favorite social sport was, in fact, golf, which he played regularly with family. His sum... see more

On September 10, 2008, my wife Shawn Marie DeVries passed away from Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricle Dysplasia (ARVD). She was only 35. Technically ARVD is not considered a SADS disease but very closely mirrors those in the symptoms. ... see more

Our beautiful daughter, Shevaun Rose Stapp, left this world on Friday, October 17th. Shevaun's heart stopped beating just a month before her 22nd birthday.... see more

Hello all, My wife (of 36 years) passed away on 13 June 2008 to an arrhythmia caused by congestive heart failure (according to the Kentucky death certificate). ... see more

Stephanie Mejias, an elementary education and psychology major at The College of New Jersey, passed away suddenly and unexpectedly in her sleep on July 27, 2009. With no signs of fatigue or symptoms of any illness, Stephanie was unexpectedly taken away from the ones she loved. She was 19 and would have been a junior this year. Her death quickly ended an opportunity for a dedicated student to help the ones she really cared for: her family, friends and the students she hoped to teach one day. Sh... see more

On December 8th, 2000 our lives forever changed with the sudden loss of our second surviving son "Tony" Tony was found in the early hours of the morning in his bed unresponsive. He was quickly rushed to a nearby hosptial where CPR was performed but Docters were unable to revive him..It had been much too late. Prior to Tony's passing we were never aware of the silent killer "SADS" that have take so many young lives..So unfortunately and so sad... ... see more

I suddenly lost the most loving husband ever after being married 23 years and having two children age 11 and 13 at the time. Tony had some heart palpitations in the last one to two years of his life. When he went to the doctor, they ran two EKG's which showed normal, then did a stress test which was also normal. They couldn't find anything wrong. His blood pressure was great, his cholesterol was perfect and he was 46 yrs old. He was the picture of Heath so we thought. But, two years later about ... see more

Our daughter Trina died suddenly in February 2004. She was only 23 and was pregnant with her second child. When she died she had a 11 mo. old little girl. She was our miracle because the Dr.'s had told us that we could not have any more children and God blessed us with Trina. ... see more