Sitting down and writing a biography for a 17 year old boy that is no longer here with us on this earth does not seem like something any person should have to do, but sadly there are times when it is necessary. This is one of those times, where the world has lost an incredible young soul: Sean Anthony Ward Alexander. He came into our lives on a lovely spring day: April 6, 1996 and left our worlds all too soon: October 21, 2013.
To begin, there are a few things that people (those who knew and loved him, and even for those that did not have the pleasure of knowing Sean) should know about him. Sean was a blond haired, blue eyed boy, with a heart larger than most of us can imagine. His personality was one that made even the saddest heart smile, if even just for a moment. His laughter was contagious and his smile so brightly lit up our lives. Since his passing, we have all heard so many stories of how Sean helped so many of his friends- friends that were having troubled times and chose him to turn to. Clearly, Sean had something special about him that while maybe not everyone noticed, the ones that needed to notice did. Most of us wonder what our calling here on earth is: why we are here and what, if anything, is so special about us that separates us from others. I believe Sean’s calling was to be a friend in need for those around him. And my hope is that they will take with them each and every day they live whatever words were spoken to them by him. In this way, Sean will be able to live on in all of our lives. We are reminded in the worst of ways that life is too short and tomorrow is never promised. Yet there is good that can come out of such sadness- we just need to learn to look for and recognize it. I believe we will find it in those most unexpected, quiet moments. The moments where we are able to look at a picture of Sean, or share a story about him and not be overcome with tears of sadness but instead JOY. Because that is truly what he was to all that knew him- he was happiness, sweetness, kindness, thoughtfulness, love and joy. All wrapped up in beautiful blue eyes and a smile that would melt your heart. All of what Sean was is what makes it so hard to not have him here with us. But my hope and prayer is that his family, friends and loved ones will one day realize that he never left us. We may not be able to wrap our arms around him physically, though our arms ache to do just that. We can however, keep him with us in our hearts. What we do with our lives and how we treat one another- if we can somehow learn to take Sean’s memory with us each day on our own personal journeys, and make them GOOD journeys- that my friends, would have brought out that smile of his that we all loved so much.
Sean was survived by: His parents, Joshua James Alexander Sr. and Shannon Alexander. His siblings: Zachary, age12, Mikayla, age 8, Andrew, age 3, and Joshua Jr., age 2. His grandparents Ron and Pam Rice and Ana and Pete Valladares. His Uncle Chris, Aunt Racheal, Uncle Sean, and Uncle Bruce. His cousins are Desi, Brandon, Monique, Justin, Katlyn, Matthew, Joseph, April, and Brittany. He had a lot of Great Cousins(mom and Dads cousins) , but there are too many to mention.
Serenity Prayer
God grant me the serenity
To accept the things I cannot change,
Courage to change the things I can
And the wisdom to know the difference.
Living one day at a time,
Accepting hardship as the path to peace,
taking ,as He did, this sinful world as it is,
not as I would have it,
trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will,
that I may be reasonably happy in this life
and supremely happy
with Him
forever in the next.
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