Eulogy Aaron Adair by David Adair 02/01/2014
It is hard to convey the words to express our family’s deep sorrow at the tragic loss of our son Aaron. We sincerely would like to thank each and every one of you for taking the time to share in our grief and celebrate the life of Aaron here today.
We would like to thank Pastor Ryan of Eastlake Community Church for donating this facility for the Memorial here today. Aaron and Amanda have been attending Eastlake and had just joined this church recently.
It was the night before Aaron had passed that Debbie and I attended the 6 PM service with Aaron and Amanda and then we went out to dinner with them after the service. Throwing in the dinner I think is what got me to go to a 6 PM mass. How was I to know it would be the last time I would see Aaron, and what a blessing that was.
I would also like to thank all the volunteers for helping make this event happen especially Mike and Karen Funis, Debbie’s sister and my brother in-law.
As you might think, Aaron, like most of us, are Big Seahawk fans. We thought it fitting to send him off with the blue and green and hope he is watching and cheering for our team in the greatest sporting event of the year. For tomorrows’ game he will have the Best seat in the house.
The support we have had from friends and family these last 4 weeks has been truly amazing, never having been on the receiving end on such a scale before. We feel blessed to have had so many of Aaron’s and Amanda’s friends, acquaintances, long time family friends, extended family, all reaching out to us giving their heartfelt
condolence, cards, flowers great food, and some really tasty treats. It really has meant the world to us. Thank you all so very much.
I would like to share some of my feeling these last few weeks with you and then go back in time and share a little bit more of our time as a family raising a couple of boys who could not be more different from each other, but who loved each other very much.
Aaron was not only my Son, but my best friend and fishing buddy. He was sometimes hard to get a hold of when I needed him to help me out with a project sometimes, but he was a very hard worker and I always enjoyed working with him on numerous projects. He did have a habit of borrowing anything I owned, as if it were his, and usually without asking. So I spent hours looking for this tool or that, and when I could not find it I had to track him down and ask if he knew where it was or if he had it. More than likely he had it or knew where it was..
Now if I can’t find something I know it is just me forgetting where the heck I put it… I can’t blame him anymore.
Maybe somehow I can call on him now and then to help me find the whatever I have misplaced.
When you get news you have lost someone you love very much un-expectantly and if it comes swift, you go into shock, disbelief, denial. You can’t believe it is true, that this is happening.
I yelled out in pain, I could not cry or breathe for a few moments. You go numb, your brain is in a fog, then you try to gain your composure and reconcile what has happened…. It is then that grief starts to kick in. I asked God why, oh why God my son Aaron? Say it can’t be so, I
need to wake up from this nightmare, but I was awake and unfortunately it was true and I could not bring my boy back.
I had never had those intense emotional feelings so great before in my life and I know they not only happened to me, but were shared to all in our family and all those that have been close to Aaron as they heard the news that fateful day. Those feelings can happen with anyone losing someone they love. Emotions are part of what make us human. Being human and feeling things in your heart and mind, be it sadness or sorrow, joy or happiness, or love or hate is what differentiates people from other life forms on this planet. Those emotions that flood our conciseness at special times in our lives make us appreciate the times we cherish with those we love and share in our world.
We hold dear in our heart and mind the memories of those we have lost along the way.
We all have been grieving these last 4 weeks, but each day we hurt a little less. We try to remember all the wonderful times we have spent with Aaron, and his loss will leave a everlasting hole in our hearts.
All of your presence here today celebrating a life lost way to soon, but a life lived well with those who knew and loved him, will help us all heal a little bit faster. Let us heal together and honor Aarons memory here today and forever more.
Aaron came into this world after a couple of false starts over at Group Health Eastside on April 29th 1979. He was the 1st grandchild born to Bob and Irene Adair and Babe and Wally Hilde, but there would be plenty more kids. Aaron became the oldest of 11 cousins and he loved each and every one of them very much.
We had countless family get to gathers at Easter, Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthdays, and any other excuse to have a family feast. And there were many. Debbie’s Mom was full a blooded Italian and her Dad, Wally, full blooded Norwegian. On my side English, Scotch Irish, and Finish. It made for a good mixture. Aaron loved his family very much hosting as late as last December a cousins party at his and Amanda’s home in Bothell.
Aaron had his moments growing up like some kids do. He was no angel most of the time getting himself into mischief more than once. He had some big shoes to fill.
There was not a lock around the house he had not found away to unlock, or something we had hidden he could not find, as he got into everything. Several trips to the emergency room for mishaps doing something he should not have done.
When he was a baby he cried so hard when he wanted some attention he turned blue and stopped breathing. That got our attention. We worried at lot, especially his mother.
I had been given some simple advise early on raising children, that in the first three years you teach them to walk and talk, and then the next 15 to sit down and shut up. That did not necessarily apply to Aaron.
He was quite often the center of attention, at a young age, having been the 1st born. All the aunts and uncles and grandparents doted over him. He was very outgoing and he made friends very easily, as many here today can attest.
He sometimes bent or broke the rules; like the time I had to drive down to the Oregon coast in the middle of the night to pick him up from Boy
Scout Camp. I guess he did not think the warning from the Scout counselor to stop horsing around was meant for him. He pushed the envelope and sometimes paid the price, but he always had that cute smile and got away with a lot more than he should of.
Like most parents we tried to keep him busy with sports, scouts, piano lessons, etc. He was diagnosed at a young age with ADD, or attention deficite disorder, and we spent several years working the programs with the eastside group health ADD clinic.
We even considered writing a book, but Kids do grow up eventually.
At 18 he and a friend Matt moved to Las Vegas. Out on his own he had to find a job, work and make money to survive. He worked collections, worked for a painting contractor, sold furniture and found out what it was like paying his own bills. We did a visit to Vegas a couple of times to check up on him and after a year or so he moved back home. He missed his family. With a few new skills under his belt he went to work as a laborer doing stone and tile work. He then went to work for our friend and neighbor Brian Moody, who had a steel erecting company. Aaron liked the work and was encouraged to get his welding certification which he did by attending Lake Washington Technical college. Working as an apprentice he soon became a journeyman Iron worker. He got very good at what he did and joined the local 86 Ironworkers union gaining more skills and making a good wage. Aaron enjoyed working with his peers and made many more friends in the trades.
Many of my favorite memories are of our family ski trips to Mount Hood, Mound Batcher in Oregon, day trips to Stevens and Snoqualmie Pass and trips to Florida and Disney World. Summers boating and
waterskiing at Lake Chelan and Lake Osyoose in eastern Washington or spending time at his grandparents beach home on Camano Island. We had some great hikes in the mountains and wonderful fishing trips in Alaska and Puget Sound.
Aaron loved camping and would head out in winter snow to build a snow camp with friends in the mountains for the weekend. He loved to go target shooting with his buddies and when he found the love of his life, Amanda, they had many of the same passions for the outdoors, fishing, camping, shooting, hiking. He had found his soul mate and in the last 2 1/2 years we had never seen him happier. Thank you Amanda, we love you and you will always be part of our Family.
Aaron was a very neat and tidy person. He was a Sharpe dresser starting at an early age.
He was in very good shape starting at a young age working out.
He enjoyed his cousins , here Kevin, sometimes at their expense. Aaron and Kevin were very close, as well as his cousin Justin.
Aaron was musically talented and played the piano quite well like his grandfather Bob Adair.
Aaron loved to cook and was a pretty good chief
I will always cherish those wonderful times we shared together and will keep those memories alive with photos and stories.
I feel like he is with all of us now.
We feel blessed that Aaron had found the love of his life, Amanda, and pray that God give her the strength to carry on without him as I know we all will.
Our family has started a memorial fund with the help of Kent at North coast Iron, and we have set up a website in Aarons Honor.
www. AaronAdairMemorial.org. We will have all these photos, family video’s and much more posted as the weeks go by. The site will have a blog page where you can tell your stories with Aaron, vent, inspire or whatever you feel appropriate. We hope all of you that have photos or memories that you would like to share, can post them to the site.
We are going to raise money through this fund to help young people at risk from drug and alcohol addiction, and by working with Eastlake Community Church, in Aarons name, to make a difference and hopefully save the life of someone at risk and in financial need.
Please check the website from time to time and see how we are doing. Donations would be greatly appreciated and your name noted on a donors page.
Again, I want to thank you all for coming here today. This turnout just shows how many lives Aaron has touched in theses 34 years we had him with us.
Please share in food and beverage after the ceremony. There will be a open mica for friends to share memories and stories of Aaron and family with all of us.
In closing… It is only when we truly know and understand that we have a limited time on earth— and that we have no way of knowing when our time is up — that we will begin to live each day to the fullest, as if it was the only one we had.
Elisabeth Kubler-Ross