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Rhys 18th Birthday feb 12, 2003 |
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The 12th of February was Rhys 19th Birthday.
A birthday is a celebration of someones life. So we celebrated Rhys birthday. We got dressed up went out to dinner, just like we used to with Rhys. we went to the Cheescake Factory - which was where Rhys would have wanted to go. It was great.
Yes, it was a little teary at times, but you also heard Anthonys deep chuckle, we smiled telling Rhys stories and Rhys was with us. He was with us all.
Rhys was born on what he called Ham Lincolns birthday (AbraHAM) when he was three or four. It was a national holiday then, but they decided to gyp Rhys, and just like that - his national holiday vanished and morphed into presidents day and they moved the holiday to Washingtons birthday.
Birthday celebrations get better every year it couldnt have been that special for Mrs. Lincoln for a few years and it took a few years for Christs birthday to become what it has become, yet today we celebrate their birthdays with fond memories of their goodness.
So celebrate this birthday with us. Celebrate the time that Rhys spent with us all, put a birthday card in his guest book, and smile with Rhys, because he will be smiling.
So will Ham.
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Long Guestbook Entries
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Sadie |
Rhys is a welsh name.
Rhys descended from Rhys "ardor, a rush," a name made famous by a great South Wales family.
Rhys ap Tudor checked the Norman advance into South Wales. His grandson, Rhys ap Gruffydd, became so powerful that Henry II of England appointed him King's Justiciar for Wales.
From Rhys are derived the surnames of Reece, Reese and Rice.
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These are notes Rhys made about the trip to Europe that he was planning. We found them on the back of an email from his cousin. Click on the notes to make them bigger.
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We were privileged on Friday night to be invited to attend a candlelight vigil that Rhys' high school friends arranged in the town park.
Hundreds of children were there with our son's name spelled out in candles.
The Vigil began at 8:00 pm and ended after 1 am.
When we arrived two of the kids came out of the crowd and gave us candles.
It is a sad commentary on the times that the kids had to put this together in secret for fear of the media showing up. Many of them have been unable to visit the crash site for the same reason. So we respectfully ask the media to honor our privacy as we go though every parents' worst nightmare. We grieve for our Rhys, and if anyone wants to understand our grief, they should imagine listening to a mother wail as she irons her son's suit for the funeral instead of for graduation. Hundreds of kids have been to our house over the past four days. Think of the grieving children, and hug all of your children. An art scholarship has been established for Rhys to which donations can be sent. To The Rhys Art Scholarship, care of Algonquin Regional High School, 79 Bartlett St. Northboro MA 01532.
We have also built a Web site that will be worked on through this weekend. The site is http://www.4rhys.com
Rhys' friends will be able to post notes to the site.
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Rhys had a "Thoughfull Spot" that he built in the woods for him and his friends that they used to take the golf cart to. Matt Hain went there yesterday and brought back one of Rhys paintings that Rhys had nailed to a tree to make it more homely. It's the small blue painting by Rhys' piano.
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