For the last three years, Kevin Clawson made it his mission to help care for his father, terminally ill with heart disease and the victim of two strokes.
The 13-year-old Freehold Township boy gave his dad back rubs and pep talks, staying by his side when David Clawson felt too weak to rise.
Through part of that time, the teen had his own support system in 12-year-old Graeme Preston, a classmate, fellow skateboarding buff and all-around good friend.
"Kevin's been having a hard time because his dad's been so ill, and Graeme wanted to be his support," said Kevin's mother, Jane Clawson. "Graeme told him he would always be there for him."
Yesterday, the community was mourning both boys, who were hit by a minivan at dusk Wednesday as they returned home from a friend's house.
Kevin, who celebrated his 13th birthday on Sunday, was killed instantly. Graeme died Thursday afternoon. Both were seventh-graders at Dwight D. Eisenhower Middle School.
Jane Clawson, who is friends with the Preston family, said Graeme donated his organs, a gesture she called in keeping with the boy's eagerness to help others.
"Kevin would have been proud of Graeme," she said.
The accident happened just after 6 p.m. Wednesday on Bar Harbor Road, a residential street less than a mile from the Clawson home on Koenig Lane, where Graeme's mother, Anne Preston, waited to pick him up.
READ THE REST HERE
No comments:
Post a Comment