Thank you all for this outpouring of love and support. On behalf of the family I thank you from the bottoms of our hearts. And the memories that have been posted on the Internet are of great comfort. Please make a point of putting your favorite memory of Bo on-line so that we can all savor it.

God moves in mysterious ways.

John 3:16 – For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.

This was the first bible passage I learned as a child.

Love transforms and love teaches. And love is what Jesus requires of us.

My love for Bo transformed me and many of you.

When Bo was born it was a transformational event for me. I was transformed by my love for our new child in ways that I have yet been able to describe. I just felt them. I turned to my father and held him and cried saying, “now I understand” because, suddenly, and only after having a child, did I understand what he had been teaching me as his child.

Bo grew and matured rapidly. He started walking at 10 months and started talking well at a year. It was obvious, and frightening, that he was smart. We wondered how we could give him the education he would need, what path to take so that he was challenged at every turn.

At the same time, he was a charismatic, loving child and made friends instantly at every age, in every place. And he did so because he was open, caring and loving to everyone.

When he was 18 months old we took him to see a life-sized nativity scene in Valley Forge. He was fascinated with all of the characters and the story of the baby Jesus. When we came home he found a little basket in which Danette had some jewelry, dumped it out and put it on his head proclaiming “I’m a wise man”. We couldn’t get the basket off of his head for the next couple of days and, as we were traveling back to London, he ran through the Newark Airport with the basket on his head proclaiming he was a “wise man” to the delight of our fellow travelers. It transformed their weary holiday travel with a brief moment of joy.

One year when we were debating whether to put an angel or a star on the top of our Christmas tree he suggested we put a heart, because Jesus’ love is in our hearts. He transformed our view of the tree.

Like a lot of kids, he got into video gaming early. (He played on Prodigy on-line at the age of 4.) His Uncle Dave has Downs Syndrome and Bo spent tireless hours with Uncle Dave teaching him how to play new games and helping him learn the best way to do a double back handspring while launching an extra powers attack. The love they had for each other was pure and simple and transformed other people who saw it.

He had a joy for life, always laughing and joking. He had a quick wit, a dry sense of humor and an appreciation of irony. Of course, his parents were often the targets of this humor.

When he was 10 he went to Disney World for the first time. As we drove into the park he declared “I’ve waited my whole life for this.”

A couple of years later we went to the A&W drive-in restaurant in Cortland, NY with real car-hop service. He got a chili dog delivered to his window and, turning to me exclaimed “now this is living!”

His love for people and sense of humor was felt by everyone. Here are some of the transformational remembrances we’ve received over the past week:

“He was the most nonjudgmental, caring, funny person i have ever met.”

“He was the kind of person that everyone loved to be around because of his infectious laugh and smile.”

“Bo was probably the best snowboarder there, but still had time to try to help me while I kept falling down the mountain.”

“His selflessness was contagious and his compassion and kindness unwavering.”

“You lit up every room you even set foot in. I couldn’t name one person you didn’t get along with.”

“Not only did he make light of any situation, but he was nice and actually cared about people.”

“You were selfless and gave yourself to anyone who was in need.”

“He always made the most boring things seem like a blast.”

His love helped transform these relationships into something new and better. And now Bo has passed.

But, as John told us in his first Epistle “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death.

“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”

Bo knew God. Because of his love for all of you, his brothers, he has passed from death to life.

And I am transformed, once again, by my love for my son. In a small way, I now see the sacrifice that God made when he gave us His Son. And I am forever changed.